The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
John 1:1
If you ask most people “Where is the Christmas story in the Bible ?”, they will invariably turn to Luke, chapter 2. There you will read all about the circumstances of Christ’s birth. But is that the “Christmas Story” ? It certainly is the story of what happened at Christmas. It accurately describes the events surrounding Christ’s birth. But there is little theology in the account which we traditionally read from Luke’s gospel. In Luke we learn two things that are important to us as Christians. First, in verse 11, the shepherds are told “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”. We learn that the child born that day in Bethlehem is indeed our savior. Second, in verse 14, the angels declare “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” . From this, we learn something that is both extremely profound yet highly misunderstood. Entirely too many people misunderstand the phrase, “and on earth peace, good will toward men” , to mean that because of Christ’s birth, there will be peace on earth for mankind – no more war, no more pestilence, no more violence between men – and that “good will” will be the watch word of the day. Of course we know that is not true. Look around you, pick up a newspaper, turn on CNN or Fox News and you run the risk of having your entire Christmas ruined by what you see and hear. Did the angels lie? No, of course not. The “peace” that the angels are talking about is peace between man and God; the “good will” is the coming to fruition of the will of God that the relationship between man and God be reestablished, that enmity between man and God be put aside. It represents God’s desire that the relationship be based on mans understanding and appreciation of his created existence and of his need for God’s love and guiding hand to fulfill the purpose for which he was created. It calls for peace and good will between man and God, not between men. That is why we call Christ the “Prince of Peace.” How do we know that this is what the angels were talking about? Well, we can look to the other “Christmas Story” … the gospel of John.
In the opening chapter of this gospel we read a clear account of why Christ came into the world. We read of man’s sinfulness, his need for a savior, his inability to save himself, his inability to recognize the very means of his own salvation from himself.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
And again …
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
These are profound statements, and are as true today as when John wrote them just under 2000 years ago - nothing much has changed. Despite the “Christmas story”, men still dwell in darkness in numbers far surpassing those for whom the Christmas story has pointed the way to a new life in Christ. Unlike Luke’s Christmas story, this one is full of theological truths which should never go unnoticed. It establishes clearly the eternity of Christ in the Trinity, the creation of the world by God’s hand, the creation of life itself by Christ, the continued refusal or inability of fallen man to perceive and receive God as the source of all that is, the absolute reliance upon God for salvation, and the eternal truths of election and predestination to eternal life. All of these truths are accomplished and fulfilled by the power of God only because of his love for us and his creation, and not because of anything that we have done to deserve it. Christ came into this world because of our sinfulness, not to make us feel good. This is the true story of Christmas, it is about intervention, reconciliation, salvation and truth. The Christmas story is a thing to be pondered in wonder and a privilege to be cherished by the church. Christ, fully God, fully man, is born at Christmas and by his power alone, we too are reborn as sons and daughters of God and brother and sisters with Christ. The story of shepherds and angels and the journey to Bethlehem and the lowly birth are wonderful things indeed, but there is a greater wonder in Christmas that we should never forget …
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Remember, Christ was not the only thing that came into the world at Christmas .. salvation came into the world through him … that is the real story of Christmas. This Christmas, after you have read Luke’s story, don’t forget to read John’s also.
Merry Christmas, blessed New Year … thanks be to God.
Bishop Del
