The Word "Hope" Made Flesh Series

Advent Series: The WORD Made Flesh November 28, 2004

The Word “Hope” Made Flesh

John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

…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.

When John writes, “the Word became flesh,” he is talking about the very Word of God, the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, the “Logos,” God became human.

In this Advent season, I want to play with that phrase a little and talk about how Jesus is the word “hope” made flesh, The Word “PEACE” Made Flesh, The Word “JOY” Made Flesh, The Word “LOVE” Made Flesh.

Today I want to talk about how Jesus is hope incarnate.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,

How still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light;

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in Thee tonight.

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in Thee tonight.

Hope is a word that gets bandied about a lot at Christmas time – Christmas cards with the lone word hope on the front, songs about hope, marketing campaigns that use the word hope to illicit good feelings about a product so it will sell.

Hope in the manger

In Luke 2, we find two elderly people who have true hope – it is days after Jesus is born and his parents bring him to the temple to present him there. Vs 25-38

21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[2] ), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."[3]

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you now dismiss[4] your servant in peace.

30For my eyes have seen your salvation,

31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,

32a light for revelation to the Gentiles

and for glory to your people Israel."

33The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[5] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Almost any child born brings hope – we begin dreaming about the future of this little one, and hopefully it is a bright future, but this child born homeless & in poverty has more to be hopeful about – he has come miraculously, Angels have told the parents of his coming through dreams and visions, they heralded his birth to the shepherds, and now Simeon is prompted by the Spirit to meet him in the temple, and he rejoices before God because he recognizes that this child will bring the consolation of Israel.