Good
Morning All,
John 1:14; “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.”
The young wife was crying,
almost inconsolably. Her husband,
wanting to ease her pain and be the hero, began the process. She had taken her wedding ring off while
washing some glasses in the sink. As she
pulled the plug and the water went down the drain; she reached for her ring to
put it back on. Her hands were still wet
and slippery so the ring slipped and fell into the sink and went down the
drain. She put the plug back in and
screamed and cried. Her husband came and
they did want most newlyweds do; they called dad.
Dad told them to get a bucket and take the
trap beneath the sink loose and drain it into the bucket. As the mixture of grease, food bits, hair and
soap poured into the bucket, the couple hoped that the ring was in it. So the husband reached into the gooey mess
and felt around until he retrieved the ring.
He gave to his wife and all was well.
Yesterday we looked at how God “got his
hands dirty” by forming man out of the clay of the earth. Today we read where God does even more. When the Apostle John first wrote this verse
in the original Greek, he was making a play on the words. Where we write “Word” he wrote “logos.” This conveys the thought of pure logic, pure
thought, total reason. So we see God on
the purest form possible. At the
creation, God spoke and all occurred.
Where we use the word “flesh” John used the word “sarx.” Here we can think of the dirty and grimy part
of human existence; the sweat, the smell, the grittiness of human
existence. You can think of the “gunk”
in your sink trap.
Yet rather than just immerse his hand into
this gunk, God sent his Son to completely immerse himself, his entire body and
existence, into the cesspool like world of humanity. God did not choose the easy way or the simple
way and certainly not the clean way. He
did it this way because of his love for you.
He hears your cry, he knows your pain and he
brings about healing. He doesn’t avoid
the mess. He doesn’t expect you to be
“mostly clean.” He picks you up out of this muck and grime in order to give you
live, in order to bring you to the purity in which we were created. This is what the birth of Jesus really means
to us; God, in his purity, enters into the depravity and sadness that makes up
the human existence. Into this pain and
sorrow, Jesus brings healing and hope.
He brings God’s mercy and his love and comfort. He enters into our existence and heals it and
takes us into his existence. He came as
a child to grow and to live a human life in order to dies for your sins. He comes to us today, in his Word and
sacrament, to bring you healing and strength; to bring you new life.
Gracious Lord, you give us
new life. You lift us up and take us
from the dredge of sinful existence to holy life with you. Help us to know your love and mercy. Help us to trust in your promise. Be with those who are in pain and sorrow at
this time. Lift them up by your
grace. In your precious name we pray,
amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor
Bret
