The Mysterious Word

Scripture: John 1.1-14; Hebrews 1.1-4

I stand here before you as one who believes in the power of words. I try to choose my words carefully, so that “none will fall to the ground”. I believe that preaching matters. I believe everybody should use care with their words, say what they mean and mean what they say. More people used to think this way than maybe do now. Words use to carry great power.

For example, have you seen A Christmas Story with Ralphie, the boy who wants a Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas? Have you seen. . .of course you have – they’re running a 24 hour marathon of it. So you know the scene where Ralphie and his friends are out on the school playground at recess and one of the boys tells them that if you stick your tongue on a frozen pole it’ll stick there. And the one of the other boys says, “Oh that’s baloney.”

“No really, my dad told me.”

“Your full of it and so’s your old man!” Strong words these.

But here comes the poetry.

“Oh yeah, well then you do it.”

“I don’t have to. It’s stupid.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re scared.”

“Scared? I ain’t scared.”

“Well then do it! I double dare you!” Oh no! the infamous double dare.

The other boy – “NO, it’s stupid. Why should I put my tongue on a . . .”

“I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!” Oooooh, the dare of all dares, the triple dog dare. There was now no refusing, no going back. The gauntlet had been laid down. If the daree was going to show his around the playground again, he would have to accept the challenge.

That’s the power of words. Well, used to be. It’s harder to get people’s attention these days. Lord knows, the Lord’s been trying.

Long ago, the writer of Hebrews starts out, God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways. People ask why doesn’t God say something if He’s real. From God perspective, I imagine, it feels like He’s been talking for several thousand years. That’s a long sermon, even by my standards. Maybe God got frustrated. Maybe a new plan was called for. Because God did change his tactics. Before, when the Lord spoke it was loudly and clearly in pretty easy to understand messages. (See Eden, Noah, Sodom, Nineveh, etc.) and when God acted it was pretty clear what he wanted and what He did. But in the New Testament God’s word comes in mystery. To be sure the prophets had been hinting at this mystery for hundreds of years, talking about Messiah who would come. But that only heightened the drama and the longing for God to do it.

You’ve experienced drama last night and early this morning – especially you parents of small children. I can see the drama in your puffy eyes. What is better than that first look at the Christmas tree and all those wrapped packages underneath? I realized the other day while I was wrapping, that the wrapping is half the fun – I mean we don’t just put stuff underneath the tree, as is. We wrap the gifts because it adds mystery and magic. The wrapping heightens the drama. You just don’t know what could be in that package until you open it.

The Jewish people looked and waited for God to speak and fulfill his promise. They were waiting for Christmas before anyone had heard the word. They had expectations of what the Gift would look like when He came. Is it so surprising that they still didn’t know what they had got as He stood before them teaching and preaching? Starting with Mary and Joseph, many pondered what exactly they were getting in this child called Jesus.

This what Hebrews says we got – “the reflection of God’s glory, the exact imprint of God’s very being.”

Pretty good, huh. And as I said, Jesus came preaching and teaching. His words were more powerful than any words anyone else had ever heard. People said to each other, “The Rabbi never sounded like this!”

But here’s the thing. Even though Jesus is called The Word of God; and as powerful and important as Jesus words are, and they have power to save our very souls; this day is not about words alone.

After all, the Word didn’t become words. The Word became flesh. And He dwelt among us and we have beheld him. This day is about the presence of God in our lives and our experience of Him. Today is not called the ChristWord; it is Christmas, the ChristMass, which means His presence, His flesh.

They mysterious word to us, to our world and universe is, God so loved His people that He chose to become one of them so that they would find life in Him.

Live with Jesus today.