Grace

It isn’t that often that we get a second Sunday in Christmas so it’s great to be able to be together again to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christmas Eve we heard the birth story from Luke and then two days later we heard many different readings which had to do with the conception and birth of Jesus. Today, as the second Sunday of Christmas we get the opening of John’s gospel. On the one hand it seems odd to have this because it is still Christmas and we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas and this isn’t really a birth story. On the other hand this is the perfect text to have this Sunday because even though it isn’t a birth story, it is John’s story of Jesus coming into the world. Instead of a birth story Jesus being born into the world to Mary and Joseph, this is a story of the incarnation; of God made flesh.

John begins his gospel with the words, “in the beginning” which are the opening words of the the book of Genesis. John begins his gospel the exact same way that the beginning of the Bible is started and reminds in a way that it was the Word of God that brought the world into being. Not only that it was the word of God that brought the world into being but that Word was light and the light did not let the darkness overcome it. And not only that but that the very Word of God became flesh and lived among us.

That is why this is a Christmas story. The Word became flesh and lived among us. The very word of God that spoke everything into being at the beginning of creation is now flesh; made incarnate. What is the purpose or the goal of this incarnate word? To see God’s glory that is full of grace and truth. To know that from him we have received grace upon grace and that again grace and truth came through Jesus Christ who we now know is the Word made flesh.

Did you notice what John said multiple times in this short part of the opening to his gospel? The word grace is used 4 times in 3 different verses and the one time as I just mentioned is ‘grace upon grace’. This word is pushed so hard right here in the opening of John’s gospel and yet one commentator points out that these 4 times are the only times that we will ever see word grace used in John’s gospel. I know that seems hard to believe but it’s true. The only times this important and powerful word is used is here in the opening of John’s gospel.

I think part of the reason that is so hard to believe is that as Lutherans we have a theology that pushes so heavily on our understanding of grace. We rely heavily on scriptures like Romans 3:28 that tell us that very thing. Titus 3:7 also tells us that we are justified (made right) by his grace and therefore heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Ephesians 2:8 says that we have been saved by grace through faith and this is not our doing but it is the gift of God, not the result of works. I’m sure we could find more references, but I think you get my point. So if there are so many other scriptures about grace and how grace makes salvation possible, not our own doing, then how come John who presses this idea of Word made flesh and grace so heavily, skip the word entirely for the rest of his gospel?

I believe the answer lies in the scripture that we have for today. We just have to unpack it and even skip some other parts to really get to it. The first time we hear it we see that we are told that the Word became flesh and lived among us. If we then skip to the grace part we see that the Word made flesh is full of grace and truth. Then it says that from his fullness, from the Word made flesh, we have all received grace upon grace. In the first part we see that he is full of grace and truth and then that from his fullness we receive grace upon grace. Finally that the law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We now have a distinction. Grace and truth are distinct from the law the Moses brought to the people.

What I take away from all of that is that the Word made flesh is Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is full of grace and truth and that grace is given to us from his very being. In other words Jesus is grace. As much as John is saying Jesus is the Word made flesh I believe John is also saying that the word that Jesus has been sent to share is grace to all people. Therefore, everything that Jesus does and says in the very gospel of John is God’s grace made known to the world through the Word of God made flesh in the world.

If we take a look at the last verse for the day I believe that helps reinforce that point. It is God’s son who is close to the Father’s heart who has made him known. One of the main reasons for the life of Jesus was to make God known to the world. Moses and the law came from only being able to see God in a very small part. Moses was the only person who had any kind of personal interaction with God other than Adam and Eve. Yet, Jesus was God made flesh, the word made flesh. If that word was grace then Jesus spent his life making God known to us by telling us and showing us that God is grace and truth.

From his first miracle in John’s gospel of turning water into wine to his resurrection and ascension and everything else in between Jesus spent his life showing God’s love for us by pouring out the fullness of his grace over and over again. He did this through his including the poor and the outcast, the widow and the alien. He did this by making the most unlikeliest of people his disciples. He did this by curing and healing those who came to him in need. His life was full of grace upon grace poured out for us all. Today we continue to receive the same blessing of grace and truth from the Word made flesh. Grace made flesh. At this time of year we talk about all the wonderful Christmas presents we have received and I cannot think of anything greater than the gift of grace made possible for us through the Word made flesh. Through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

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