Monday, Dec. 1st

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Monday, Dec. 1

John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Twice a year at our church we celebrate what we call “The Dedication of Children.” It’s a brief ceremony in which parents covenant before God to raise their children in the Christian faith. We observe this ceremony in the context of a worship service because we want to emphasize the importance of families in the process of spiritual development.

Since we can have anywhere from 5 to 25 children being dedicated the whole thing can be a bit unpredictable. You never know when a child will pull on the mike, or have a sudden bodily function, or just look at you and scream.

It can be a little messy; just like life.

Whenever I dedicate children these days I always think back to when my wife and I dedicated our own children years ago. I also find myself remembering the anticipation and joy of the the birth of our first son.

We had waited almost 5 years after being married, so we were very excited to become parents.
Like many new parents of our generation we signed up for Lamaze classes and learned all the techniques that were supposed to help with the birthing process. I was enthusiastic about my role as “coach” and dutifully practiced my breathing so I would be able to be a great support for my wife.

Then the time came and all the training and classes went right out the window.

First of all, the labor process took like three days; we just weren’t prepared for that.

And then, after what seemed like a thousand hours, when it was time for the baby to be born there was a complication and our doctor ordered an emergency C-section.

Things got very scary very fast. Lots of technicians and nurses showed up and within a couple of minutes my wife was in surgery and I was watching helplessly from behind a screen. Terrified.

All of a sudden I saw the doctor reach down and then he held up my new-born son for me to see...and he was ...blue?

Later I found out that it’s quite normal for newborns to look like baby squids but I must missed that in the classes. I was totally unprepared for that color!

The whole thing was just messier and “earthier” than I had expected.

Then two days later they wrapped our now beautiful baby up in a blanket and told us we could take him home.

Just like that.

We didn’t have to take a test; they didn’t hand us an owner’s manual or a detailed instruction booklet. They just handed us our baby, “Congratulations, have fun!”

I remember feeling a strange combination of overwhelming joy and almost paralyzing fear.
“What in the world are we doing!?”

In his soaring introduction to his gospel John identifies Jesus as the eternal Word of God through whom the universe was created (which we will cover in next weeks “10 Minutes with God”). Then he concludes with:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Whoa!

Sometimes I think we’ve become so familiar with what we call the “Story of Christmas” that we no longer hear, see and feel the shock and awe of it all.

The Word became flesh.

God took on skin and breath and hair.

Really? The God who created the universe by speaking it into existence would humble himself to be born into this world through a human mother? He would take on flesh with all it’s frailties and pains and indignities? He would subject himself to hunger and thirst and fatigue; to love and grief and loneliness?

What for? What in the world is God doing?

Author Frederick Buechner says it this way:

The Word became flesh. Ultimate Mystery born with a skull you could crush one-handed. Incarnation. It is not tame. It is not beautiful. It is uninhabitable terror. It is unthinkable darkness riven with unbearable light. Agonized laboring led to it, vast upheavals of intergalactic space, time split apart, a wrenching and tearing of the very sinews of reality itself. You can only cover your eyes and shudder before it, before this: “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God… who for us and for our salvation,” as the Nicene Creed puts it, “came down from heaven.”

The Apostle John says it this way:

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...”

Pastor Brian Coffey