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CHRISTMAS DAY – The Nativity of Our LordDec. 25, 2024Pastor Tom Steers,Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, TorontoBrothers & Sisters, peace, grace, and mercy be with you through God our Father, and our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.Our Opening Hymn 379 “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Lutheran Service Book) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57qt4PHBmoA Prayer on Christmas Day –This day of joy returns, Father in Heaven, and crowns another year with peace and good will.Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men. Guide us in appreciating your great love, and Christ’s great sacrifice for us.Close the doors of hate, and open the doors of love all over the world.Let kindness come with every gift, and Godly caring with every greeting.Deliver us from evil, by the blessing that Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with loving hearts.May this Christmas morning make us happy to be Your children,And this Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.Hymn of Praise: 380 “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfvbpVH0CDQConfession and Absolution Our Bible Readings:Our First Reading – Isaiah 52: 7-10 Psalm 2 Epistle Reading – Titus 3: 4-7 Our Gospel Reading – John 1: 1-14 The Apostles’ Creed Hymn of the Day: 370 “What Child Is This” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wJIOnT3axY The Sermon,“In the Beginning Was the Word”Brothers & sisters, a joyous, happy Christmas to each and everyone one of you, and peace through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.Last night I wrote about Christ as the true light of the world who broke the darkness of sin.Around the world we’ve known about darkness, despair, and brokenness in the past year. Our Gospel text Christmas Eve was the traditional birth narrative from the Apostle Luke.Luke very carefully laid out the history of Jesus' birth, so we have a clear understanding that Christ was born in a real place, at a real time. From Luke we learn that Jesus was true man born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. Yes, the angels reveal the supernatural nature of this baby, and Luke includes many teachings that show us that Christ was both man and true God in human flesh.But Luke reminds us of the Christ’s incarnation, and its meaning.Today's reading from the Evangelist John has a different emphasis. John wrote his Gospel near the end of the First Century. By that time, John was very old, and the other Apostles were already in Heaven with the Lord. A new generation hadn’t personally known Christ, and false doctrine was infiltrating the church. And so, the Holy Spirit led John to write from a different point of view. God inspired John to explain the reason for his Gospel with these words, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” [John 20:30-31]It’s no coincidence that Genesis and the Gospel of John both start with the same words, "In the beginning." God wanted everyone who heard John's gospel to understand that Jesus is God from eternity. He wanted everyone who studied this Gospel to know that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but only one – the mystery of the Trinity.The opening verses of John's Gospel are gorgeous in any language. The word picture John paints is a masterpiece of elegant simplicity. With simple words and grammar, a theology begins to take shape that’s anything but simple. And their beauty only deepens as our understanding of the original language and the culture of the day increases.The understanding of the opening verses of today's Gospel very much depends on the meaning of the word: "Word." There are two Greek terms that may be translated as ‘word.’One of them refers to the physical sound of speech. It relates to the vibrations that travel from the lips of the speaker to the ear of the listener. Occasionally, scholars who translate the Bible will express this word as “thing” instead of word. Last evening's Gospel is an example of this, we read that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." But the other meaning of the Greek term for ‘word,’ means receiving, a record, an account. To the Greek mind, it stands not only for the thoughts expressed by the ‘word,’ but also the reasoning and intellect that produced the word. To the Jewish mind, the Word of God, in this sense of the reasoning or mind of God, had enough power to bring the whole universe into existence. When Jews and Greeks read the first verses of John in this morning’s text, they understood that when John wrote, “the Word,” it wasn’t just a word on the page. They thought of a living, thinking mind. An all-powerful mind.They thought of God. “In the beginning was the Word” … and here we learn that the Word is eternal, even as God Himself is eternal.“And the Word was with God” … the Apostle John is teaching us that the Word is not the same as the Father, but is with the Father.“And that the Word was God” … we’re taught that the Word is with the Godhead. All things were made through Him. This Word created the entire universe, and no one created Him. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. In a divinely inspired sentence, John is explaining that this Word is the source of true life and true knowledge for all people.The climax, the core of today's Gospel is that this Word, this Light, came into the world in order to live with us. The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. Again, we have so much meaning. The word ‘dwelt’ in the original Greek includes the idea of pitching a tent. The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. This is the same God who pitched His tent, His tabernacle, with the children of Israel, as they wandered through the wilderness. The Bible teaches us that God is not a far-off deity who thinks of us as some sort of science project. He desires to be with the people He created. He wants to be a part of, and share our lives. In other words, He loves us. He wants to be with us. What could be more wonderful?Yet, there is mourning, a sadness in the middle of this beautiful word picture. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, the world was made through Him, yet the world didn’t know Him. He came to His own, but His own people didn’t receive Him. In spite of the honour, the blessing, the joy of God's presence among us, we reject Him. The psalmist tells us of the Lord's promise in Psalm 81:10, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.’ Nothing delights God more than sharing His gifts with us, but we return the gifts unopened. God asks us to open our mouths wide, like helpless babies waiting for their mother to feed them, but we clench our teeth in pride, and refuse the blessings.God has laid out this feast for us in the revelation of Holy Scripture and the feast of His altar table, and we sometimes only grab a few leaves from the salad bar.Even worse, we can go on to complain that God's way is too hard, and that we get nothing out of it.God Himself wants to fill us with His life, and light. In the Book of James, in James, Chapter 4, verse 2, God explains, “You desire and do not have … You covet and can’t obtain … You don’t have, because you don’t ask. God is not the stingy one. The ‘Word’ pitched His tent with us, in order to change us. God reminds us that we live in temporary bodies that are like tents. Tents are transitory. They’re not permanent homes. The ‘Word’ pitched His tent with us in order to provide us a permanent home with Him, in Heaven. He lived with us in an earthly body in order to give us eternal, heavenly bodies that will live in our true home in Heaven, with Him.The Word, God, pitched His tent with us so that He, too, could die.The world didn’t receive Him, and so they nailed Him to a cross. But the Word, God, used that deadly rejection of the cross to make a sacrifice that removed eternal judgment from the very people who crucified Him. While the world was hating the Word, the ‘Word,’ Jesus, loved the world. He gave His life as a sacrifice of that love.The Word is more powerful than death, so the ‘Word’ defeated death, and returned to life. His humanity was no longer encased in the tent of this world, but in the eternal home of His heavenly glory. The Heavenly body of the ‘Word’ shows us what our heavenly bodies will be after we leave behind the earthly tent we now inhabit. The Good News is that all who receive the Word, Jesus, who believe in His name, Christ gives the right to be His children.Luke tells us that Mary laid a baby in a manger. John tells us that baby is the Word who was with God in the beginning, is with God now, and will be forever. And as a believer in the Word, in Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Saviour, so will you.Christian, you will live eternally in the paradise, the home, your Lord created.May that Good News be with you this Christmas day, and always.Amen.THE SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT – THE LORD’S SUPPERSanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) The Distribution Nunc Dimitis (Song of Simeon) Communion Collect A Christmas Benediction –God grant you the light of Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the righteousness of Christmas, which is compassion; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; and the all of Christmas, which is Christ. Amen.Closing Hymn 386 “Now Sing We, Now Rejoice” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FNR7EuA6cY