Sermon for December 25th (Christmas Day)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word as with God, and the Word was God. 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.” A big part of Christmas is seeing. Seeing promises fulfilled. God promised his people a Messiah, a king above all other kings and he even told them where to look: in Bethelehem. And, in Jesus Christ, he made good on all his promises. And, most amazingly, his people could SEE these promises fulfilled. The baby Jesus was in plain sight for all to see, whether they be shepherds, wise men or anyone else. And he wasn’t simply an idea, he was a living, breathing person. The book of Hebrews says that he was, “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.” The Jews didn’t just have to just believe God’s promises anymore, now they could see their salvation for themselves.

But Christmas, for us, is different now, isn’t it. We want to see Jesus too. Don’t you? My little girl often asks me, when will I get to see Jesus? And I have to tell her, “Not yet.” We celebrate Christmas, the fulfillment of God’s promises, but we don’t get to experience a very important part of that fulfillment. John says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.” But WE, you and I gathered here this Christmas day, have not seen aything. True? It’s Christmas Day and we here still have not seen Jesus, in the flesh, in all his glory.

In seminary, there is a little line that is often used, ad naseum I think, to express a lot about what we go through in life as Christians. Professors often talk about God’s promises being fulfilled now/but not yet. Now, but not yet. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ thousands of years ago in Bethlehem now, today. Merry Christmas! As John explains in his first letter, “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life.” Jesus’ followers believed in Jesus because they saw him, touched him, smelled him, heard him and knew him as a person, but we are left to trust them as witnesses to their and our salvation.

Seeing is believing, as the old saying goes, but the apostle Paul also explains in Romans that “faith comes through hearing”. One day we will not be saved by faith alone, but we will celebrate Christmas in a whole new way by seeing Jesus Christ in the flesh, face to face, with our very own eyes. We celebrate Christmas NOW in hope, but we have NOT YET seen our salvation face to face. Christmas has been fulfilled now, but not yet for us.

It’s frustrating, I know, to wait through the four weeks of Advent only to hear, on Christmas Day, that the waiting is not yet over, but this is the story of our lives as Christians. Jesus commanded that everyone who has two cloaks should share one with someone who has none and that everyone who has more bread than they need should share some with someone who has none; however, Jesus also said that the poor would always be with us. These past few weeks, everyone around the world does their best to serve the needs of the poor, the hurting and the needy and we all do make a difference, but when Christmas is over, the poor are still there, people still hurt and the needy are as prevalent as ever. God promises that one day, there will be an end to suffering completely and we will see it with our own eyes but we experience the fulfillment of God’s work now, but not yet.

Jesus was born, in the flesh, because God wanted his people to SEE their salvation, but Jesus also says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” There is a special blessing at Christmas for those of us who have not yet seen Jesus in the flesh and still believe in his promises. Sometimes, seeing makes believing harder, especially when you see your Messiah crucified, dead and buried. Even after you’ve stuck your finger in his side, could you really believe in the way you did before? We are blessed to have not seen and yet, believe.

The first Christmas Day was about seeing salvation in the flesh for those who were living at Jesus’ time, but for us today, it is about more than seeing. Christmas Day is a celebration of a God who loved the world so much that he wasn’t just born to show them salvation, but it is a celebration of a God who died and was resurrected to actually give them faith. Seeing your salvation, doesn’t actually mean you have faith in it, does it? As John put it, “Jesus was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” Seeing DOESN’T always mean believing, does it. Christmas Day for us means to believe that, yes, God was born, he was seen, but, more importantly, God was born for you. To save you. To rescue you from sin. To give you faith. To make sure that NOW wouldn’t be the only time for you, but that you would live with God in heaven forever. So Merry Christmas Now! But, also, Merry Christmas not yet. Amen.