In our world today, the initials www are almost instantly recognized. They stand for ‘world-wide-web.” For those who surf the ethereal electronic medium called the Internet, www is well familiar. But today, I’m going to propose a different meaning for you. I hope and pray that we can use these three letters to form touchstones that will help us remember the final Christmas sermon of the year. I am going to redefine www for you today.
The first ‘w’ that I want you to consider stands for “Who.” Who is the Baby of whom men and angels sing? The first few verses from the Gospel of John form one of the best-known passages in Scripture. They communicate a great and awesome truth about the identity of the Baby of Bethlehem. They help us to answer the question of, “Who?” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)
Jesus Christ is the Word. To the Greeks the term was the "Logos." When they used this term they meant several things. To them “logos” could mean the spoken word or the word still in the mind - the reason. But when the Greeks applied the term "Logos" to the universe, they meant that which governed all things.
The Jews, on the other hand, used the term ‘Word’ as a way of referring to God. When we look at the very beginning – at how God created the heavens and the Earth we see something very interesting. How did God create? There is a phrase that is used over and over again in the creation account: “And God said…” And God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the firmament to divide the waters from the waters.” And it happened. For each day of the creation we see that the scriptures record, “And God said…” and it came to be. God created through the "Logos" - the Word.
Jesus, the Baby of Bethlehem is the Word – “In the beginning was the Word… and all things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” Jesus has ‘been’ since the very beginning of time. God’s Word, his Logos, Jesus Christ is the power of God in the creation. Jesus – that Baby is God fully and completely. To the believer, Jesus’ identity as God is absolutely essential. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles identifies Jesus with the creating power of God as He writes:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)
As clear as the scriptures teach it, the deity of Christ is not an easy thing to really grasp. One day a good friend and I started talking about matters of faith. He asked me about Christianity. When we got around to the question: “Who is Jesus?” - I told him that I believed that Jesus was fully man and fully God. When he heard this, he got very angry with me. I’d never seen him that way before. He got up and stomped around and said, “How can anyone possibly believe that a man – a human being was God?”
You see, beloved, it doesn’t make any sense. But it’s not supposed to make sense. It is simply what God asks us to believe – and to believe it unto salvation. We confessed it today as we spoke together the confession: "[I believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten not made, Being of one substance with the Father, By whom all things were made."
To us – to the believer - it is important to believe that Jesus is the eternal Word - God. It’s the part of our faith that brings us transcendence and salvation. Without it, our faith would be no better than any other pagan religion. We’d have a Savior who can’t really save. We’d have a Lord who could not have been born sinless. He could not have lived a sinless life. He could not have risen from the dead. And we’d be just going through the motions.
But because Jesus is God incarnate - the Word – He is able to offer us so much more. We receive from Him life and light and salvation. The Gospel lesson tells us that: “…[Jesus] was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity. The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.” (John 1:4-5) That is only possible because the answer to the first ‘w’ – who - is the Eternal Logos.
The second ‘w’ stands for, “witness.” Our Gospel text says: “God sent a man named John to be his messenger. John came to declare the truth about the light so that everyone would become believers through his message. John was not the light, but he came to declare the truth about the light.” (John 1:6-8) So that we would not miss the Logos, God sent a witness – someone to point to the Savior – someone to help us recognize the Baby’s identity. That witness was John the Baptist. John’s testimony about Jesus is this:
“The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:9-13)
It’s hard to imagine such treachery. But John the Baptist tells us that the very people whom the Eternal Word created would reject Him. In history, that rejection is best exemplified by the cross where the Eternal Word in human form died. He came unto his and his own received him not.
Wow! What would you do? We might seek revenge or justice. But Jesus - the Eternal Word – didn’t. The witness tells us that the cross would become the power of God unto salvation. Through that cross, we become the children of God. The witness was sent by God to point us to the Word.
The first ‘w’ stands for who; the second ‘w’ is for witness. And the third ‘w’ is for wonder. My very favorite verse is found in this passage from the Gospel of John. It’s verse 16: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” The Spanish translation transmits the message even more beautifully: “Porque de su plenitud todos nosotros recibimos, y gracia sobre gracia.” – Literally translated this says: “Out of his fullness all of us have received and grace upon grace.”
This beautiful verse is in the middle of a reading that is full of awe and wonder. Listen to the amazing things that God has done in Christ:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ” From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. (John 1:14-18)
This short passage from the end of our Gospel text shares Who the Baby of Bethlehem is - the Eternal Word – God Incarnate. This passage tells of the witness’ testimony - how God wrapped Himself in human flesh and came to show us God’s face. And this passage tells us about the wonder – the wonder of how we who have failed the Lord in so very many ways; we who have fought and not honored his name; we who have not been faithful to his calling in our lives; we who have rejected the Word – to us God returns grace upon grace.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
