 |
o logos is the Greek for "The Word,"
which is the name St. John uses
for the second person of the Trinity. |
HEBREWS 1:1-9
THE WORD MADE FLESH IS GOD’S WORD FOR YOU.
In
the name + of Jesus.
When you hear the phrase, “Word of God,” you likely think of the Bible. Your answer is not wrong, but it is incomplete. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us, “Long ago, at many times and in many
ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.” (Hebrews 1:1) While we have the Old Testament Scriptures to
refer to, we do not have the full content of every vision, every dream, and
every revelation that God gave. It is
likely that God said a lot to Adam and Noah that were not preserved in
writing. The Holy Spirit preserved what
we need to know, but whatever the Lord declared was still the word of God.
The word of God is also a creative force. The writer to the Hebrews wrote that “through (the Son) he created the
world.” (Hebrews 1:2) God the Father is the Maker of heaven and
earth, but it was all made by means of the Word. The Word of God sounded forth, and all things
came into being as they were summoned. By
that Word, the entire universe continues to function. “(The Son) upholds the universe by the word
of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3) This is
a Word that no one hears. The Word of
God goes forth to sustain the orbits of the planets, the revolution of the
earth, the tides of the oceans, the reproduction of the animals, and the sprouting
of crops. It is not a word that saves, but
it is a word that allows mankind to live and thrive under God’s gracious providence.
The Word of
God is also a person—the second person of the Trinity. St. John proclaimed: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) It
is noteworthy that God is known as the Word.
If God is the Word, that means that God is not some distant and
unknowable force that randomly created us and anonymously guides our world and
our lives. Rather, God is one who desires
to communicate with us. The Word is a God
who speaks. In the past, he spoke through
prophets, through visions, and through dreams.
But now, with the birth of Jesus, God comes to us in person, in the
flesh. St. John declared, “The
Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) The Word made flesh is God’s Word, but more
importantly, the Word made flesh is God’s Word for you.
At Christmas the Word became flesh, but we
still need the revealed word for Christmas.
It is too easy to focus on what strikes our emotions rather than on what
enlightens our faith. We think about a
poor maiden who is on a journey with her husband and is about to give
birth. In our mind’s eye, she has barely
set foot in Bethlehem when she is in full blown labor. Panicked efforts to find a hotel fail, and Joseph
and Mary are forced to seek shelter in a barn.
So, there they are—homeless, helpless, and humbly forced into such horrible
circumstances. We don’t consider the bloody
mess of birth. We envision Mary and
Joseph and perhaps even the animals glowing with serenity and awe as they stare
at the newborn baby boy. That sentimental
image is too good to pass up even if it is embellished or inaccurate.
God reveals his word to pull back the
curtain and to let us know what going on in Bethlehem. Yes, a young maiden gives birth to a son, but
God tells us who enters the world in Bethlehem.
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of
his nature.” (Hebrews 1:3) The Word has
become flesh. God the Son has made
himself one of us. The eyes see a Hebrew
baby boy. Faith confesses, “My Lord and
my God.” “Long ago, at many times
and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,” (Hebrews 1:1)
but now God comes himself to communicate with mankind. The Word made flesh is God’s word for you.
While Christmas marks God’s entrance into
our world, the writer to the Hebrews covers the entire purpose of his
coming. The God who created the world
and sustains it comes into our world. And
“after making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand
of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3)
This is why the Word becomes flesh—so that you may be cleansed of all
sin, so that you would have peace for your mind and your soul, and so that you
can receive the eternal inheritance in God’s kingdom.
You know what it is to be born into a
world of sin and sorrow. In your younger
years, you were probably sheltered from a lot of the sorrow, but it increases
as life goes on. It is not just sin out
there that makes life difficult or miserable.
You may have been a victim of the wickedness of others, but you are not
accountable for that. Rather, it is the
sin which is in you for which you are accountable. And that is a condition you were born
with. We confess with King David, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5) That sinful condition marks us for death. And every day that leads up to our death,
that sin in us produces a rebellion against God’s word.
God has given us words to
speak so that we can benefit our fellow man.
God gives us words so that we can promote each other’s welfare, encourage
one another to strive for morality, and support anyone who is downhearted. Words are supposed to communicate for the
good of others. This is the word of the
Lord: “Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth
with his neighbor… Let no corrupting
talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits
the occasion….” (Ephesians 4:25,29)
But because our minds and our mouths have been corrupted, what happens? We complain about how much our neighbor
annoys us. Or we insult him to his face
that he is stupid or belittle him for getting in our way. We boast about how we smart we are to take
advantage of other people. We embellish our
stories so that we are the victim or the hero, depending on whether we want our
audience to feel sorry for us or to celebrate us. We use our mouths to spread our own fame, and
we smear others to do it. We are no better
than the politicians we grumble about.
Our Lord has given us words regarding
our sinful condition, and we do well to confess them so that we will not perish
in our sins. Once again, we confess with
King David: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according
to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1-2)
And this is exactly why the Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. The Word made flesh is God’s
Word for you—to provide purification for sins, to reconcile us back to God the
Father, and to assure us that “God with us” is not a sentence of terror, but an
everlasting blessing.
The Word made flesh is God’s
Word for you. The prophets foretold who
Jesus is and what he would do: “Of
the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of
uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.’” (Hebrews 1:8-9) In loving
righteousness, Jesus did everything right.
More than that, in loving righteousness, Jesus did everything to restore
things and to make everything right again.
In hating wickedness, Jesus avoided every sin and overcame every
temptation. More than that, in hating
wickedness, he removed all wickedness from you.
In order to make purification for sins, the
Word became flesh for you. The Word of
God put himself beneath his own commandments in order to fulfill them. His flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit, was
born in purity and remained pure through his entire life. Even when other people were using their words
to slander, mock, and betray him, Jesus held back any words of anger or
cursing. He even prayed for his enemies
and blessed them. Then the fleshly Word
was pierced in his hands and feet to be pinned to a cross. He not only died in perfect obedience to his
mission to save sinners, he also died for the disobedience of the very sinners
he came to save. He paid the price for
every lie, every snide remark, and every cruel comment. He bore the disgrace and the damnation,
giving his body into the fiery wrath of God for you. He did this to take away all wickedness from
you. Jesus made purification for sins,
and then he purified you through Holy Baptism.
This is why the Word became flesh.
He came for you.
And while we marvel at the Word becoming flesh,
born to peasant parents, wrapped in cloths, and laid in a manger, we know the
rest of the story too. The writer to the
Hebrews looks past Jesus’ humble birth and points us to Jesus’ exaltation. The birth of Jesus is not the climax of the
story. It does no good to stop at the
beginning. We don’t merely wrap the
presents and look at them, we tear into them to see what has been given. We don’t merely prepare a Christmas dinner to
look at the nice table setting, we feast and laugh and talk with our loved
ones. So also, we don’t merely worship a
baby in a manger. We rejoice that the
Word made flesh carried our sins in his flesh, gave his body into death, and
rose from the dead to live and reign. “Your
throne, O God, is forever and ever.” (Hebrews 1:8)
We rejoice that the Word made flesh is
still God’s Word for us and still speaks to us.
And his words are always given for our good—curbing us from our sins,
encouraging us to strive after morality, comforting us when we are downhearted,
and sustaining our faith until life everlasting. More than that, we rejoice that the body
which lived for us and the blood which were shed for us are now given to us to
deliver God’s gifts to us. The sacrament
is the visible word by which Jesus gives us gifts by means we can see, touch,
smell, and taste. This, too, is the Word
of God for you.
“In these last days (God) has spoken to us by
his Son.” (Hebrews 1:2) He is the Word,
and he is a God who likes to communicate with us. He created us. He sustains our world and our lives. He became one of us so that we would always
be his—purified of all sin and recipients of divine peace. And to assure us of that, he continues to be
God’s word for you—for your comfort, for your salvation, and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son +
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
