Merry Incarnation!

Title: “Merry Incarnation”

Text: John 1:1-14

Idea: The Word Became Flesh And Now Flesh Becomes The Word.

Purpose/problem to solve; ...that people really get the concept of incarnation (1) of God (2) of us.

Introduction - Virtual Christmas fails to compare with in-the-flesh Christmas...

Christmas celebrates the incarnation of God... (the Word becoming human – flesh and blood)

...in the year of our Lord 2020, however - on the human level - or the family level This is a “non-incarnation” Christmas (!)

... if incarnation means to take on flesh and blood – to show up in person .... well, not this year!

Instead of an incarnation Christmas we might call it a “virtual Christmas”...

Christmas on the screen – on face time... on Zoom... on Viber... on Facebook Messenger... indeed it is Christmas on the screen!

Family cannot come home (easily)... travel is restricted. “it won’t be the same this Christmas...”

“this year will be different”

Maybe this year we can appreciate a little more of what God did to overcome the obstacles of travel to visit our planet...

To visit the nations... to visit our families... to visit our prisons... and hospitals... our street people... our refugee camps.

How did God do this?

How did he pull it off?

Where did he get the idea?

I mean it's unprecedented!!! Never been done before... never been done since... never will be done ever again!

Not that the original incarnation was a 33 year experiment... it wasn’t;

I mean the son of God being eternally pre-existent – he always was. He is not a “creature” – by that I mean ...he isn’t created.

But something happened in that stable in Bethlehem that continues even today – God took on human form – and he’s never discarded it!

Even now...Christ our Lord – risen from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, retains his full humanity.

Yes, the incarnation was for real – and it's still real.

Because we are made in the image of God we also have a desire to be physically present.

***It's better to watch a hockey game in person - than on TV – notice I didn’t say it's more convenient – it's not!

You must drive...find parking...walk to the stadium... find your seat – it might not be a great seat... pay for over-priced snacks... then after the game deal with the tedious traffic all leaving the stadium at the same time... getting home late.

But people still show up... they want the full live game experience!

People want to say ... “I was there” ... “we were there”

“The atmosphere was amazing... unforgettable!”

We love – we need - the incarnational experience!

Watching on TV isn’t nearly the same

Nowadays, Church is in a similar situation (!) – it's more convenient to stay home and worship online – but it's not quite the full church experience – it's virtual church – not incarnational church!

Think about it... no make-up... don’t shave... no dressing up... get a coffee anytime... no annoying people to tolerate... you can even mute the sermon and no one will know (sort of ...except God himself – God will know!)... now who wouldn’t prefer that!!!

I think virtual church is a good thing... but it's more like an on-ramp... it's not the highway!

It's a good entry point – but it's not flesh and blood community!

*** Christmas is about God going “all in” to reach humanity -- God knew that we needed Him to “show-up” ... to enter the human experience fully!

Watching from the throne room of heaven wasn't going to reach us... he had already sent prophets aplenty...he had to “come down” ... get into the dust and the flies... into a family... into a country... into a culture... into a language... into a tradition... into working with his hands... into fishing...and carpentry...so he did – in fact he came right into an occupied military state... no electricity... no technology... no internet! ...No cars... no refrigeration...

Read John 1:1-4 and 14

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

... 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.