[Hebrews, Chapter 1, Verses 1 through 3]
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
[Please be seated]
There are many forces around us that are simply too powerful to be apprehended directly.
If you look closely at your microwave, you’ll see there is a wire mesh coating on the door. Its job is to keep the microwave energy inside the oven, and not let it get out. That’s because microwaves are great for cooking food, but if they get too close, they can cook your organs too.
When the Space Shuttle launches, the closest that NASA will let anyone to the pad is a distance of over 3 miles. When those big engines start up, the noise they make is so loud that it will actually kill anything too close. (Any wildlife in the area is scared away by a horn they blow beforehand.) That’s how powerful the noise is.
And, whenever there’s a solar eclipse, you’ll often hear the warnings – don’t look straight at the sun. If you do, it may be the last thing you ever see. The sun is so bright, that it will literally burn itself on your retinas. Nothing else will ever pass through those eyes again.
There are some forces simply too big and too powerful to be safely understood in their fullness.
The Hebrews knew this was true about God. Throughout the Old Testament, God wanted to make himself known, and there were those who wanted to see him. But both sides knew that was not a safe proposition.
From the very beginning, we know that the God loved this insignificant little part of his creation. Even in the very second verse of Genesis, the author tells us that the very Spirit of God – the Ru’ach Elohim – floated over the waters of his creation. And before sin entered the equation, Adam and Eve and God could get together in the garden and relate directly.
But once sin entered in, seeing God was no longer so conducive to continued good health. It wasn’t that God had become any more or less holy, it was that we lost the power to safely apprehend Him.
Last night, we heard about Jacob’s vision of the stairway to heaven, and God himself descending to deliver the great news to Jacob that God loved him, God wanted to bless him, and that God was with him wherever he went. But that was only a vision. Years later, when Jacob encountered God, wrestling with him, Jacob didn’t really know who it was until the end.
When he found out whom he was wrestling, do you know what his reaction was? He was amazed. He had seen God, and yet he lived.
So, why is it that seeing God is a one way ticket to permanently being with him? I think there’s a simple explanation. My guess is that God is so beautiful, so holy and convicting; I suspect one look in his face would make me regret my own inadequacies so much, I couldn’t go on.
But this can present a bit of a problem for a God who loves us.
Later on, we hear about Moses. God loved Moses, and said, tell me what you want. Whatever it is – you can have it. So Moses says to God, “I just want to see you.” Can you do that for me? I think God gets a chuckle out of it, but he has tell Moses, “You can’t see me and live.” I’m just that holy.
So, you know what God does? He tells Moses, “I want you to hide in this rock, and then I’ll pass by. You can see just my back. I’ll do that for you.” All Moses ever gets is a glance at God’s back. And yet, when he returns to the people, his face is glowing so bright that the people make him put on a veil. They’re that scared.
Remember, these people are used to seeing God. All they need to do is look towards the center of the camp. By day, they’ll see a column of cloud, by night a pillar of fire. But even these symbols are simply indicators of God – reduced versions of his glory. The real thing is just too powerful.
When they dedicated the Temple in Solomon’s day, they recorded a funny incident. God’s glory – they called it the Shekinah glory – appeared as a column of smoke. And as it entered the Temple, we find that the whole area is covered. I just have to imagine that people had to have been overcome by the smoke that day. But they saw God.
So, if you’re a God that wants to be with your people, what are you going to do?
The answer is pretty simple really. Manifest yourself as something less than all your glory. A word you’ll often hear is “Incarnation.” If you ever go to Taco Bell and order Chili con carne, you’re actually using the same root. In-carn-ation literally means to put some meat on the thing. When the Spirit of God puts on flesh, he is incarnating.
Philippians hints at this, when Paul, probably quoting a song they all knew, says that Jesus –
“who though he was in the very form of God, did regard equality with God as something to be held onto or used in its fullness. So, he emptied himself, and became a slave, being born in human likeness. And, since he was now in the form of a man, he humbled himself yet again, he became obedient unto death, even the death of a cross.”
That incarnation of God becoming a humble servant is what we celebrate at Christmas. But it’s that obedience at Easter that makes him the God we so love and adore. You see, in these last days, God speaks to us – not in visions, not in pillars of cloud and fire, but veiled in the flesh of his Son.
It’s like a safety wrapper. It’s the closest thing to his holiness that he can give the world, he manifests himself – he incarnates himself, in his Son.
But you know what? Jesus lived, and died, and rose again. But then, he ascended back into heaven. We know he left us his Holy Spirit, but it’s fair question then to ask, how does he incarnate himself today?
Two quick answers. First of all, John reminds that the Son of God was first known as the Logos – the Word of God. Right here, in this book – if you want to see God, you can. It’s a manifestation of God that sits on your bookshelf. Unlike God directly, it’s not going to hurt you to pick it up and look at it, maybe even read it. It’s a love letter, reminding us of the powerful emotions God has for us.
But let’s face it, who really can really love a printed page?
That’s why, before Jesus went back to heaven, he actually left a piece of himself down here. Right before he was going to die, Jesus gathered his disciples, and told them something interesting.
As they prepared to take the Passover meal, Jesus took some bread and said, “This is my body.”
As we prepare to celebrate that event, we should know something. This bread we’re going to take? It’s an incarnation of Jesus. As we prepare to take that incarnation into ourselves now – as we prepare to encounter the Lord’s Supper, would you pray with me?
Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Invocation Michael Hollinger
*Opening Hymn #78
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
Welcome & Announcements
Morning Prayer
*Offertory Hymn #83
“Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
Scripture Hebrews 1:1-3
Sermon: “Incarnation Today”
Communion
The Bread
The Cup
Response #76
“My Jesus, I love Thee”
Benediction
Congregational Response
May the grace of Christ of Savior / And the Father’s boundless love
With the Holy Spirit’s favor / Rest upon us from above. Amen.
* Congregation, please stand.
Depart To Serve
SCRIPTURES FOR MEDITATION
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
- Hebrews 1.1-4
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
- John 1. 14-18
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
-Philippians 2.5-12
