Wonder in the midst of the Ordinary      Martin Baker

Introduction

This morning we hear a different Christmas Story. In thisfirst chapter of John.

So no sheep, or angels or wise men or stables.

In fact if we had a Christmas pageant based on the Gospel ofJohn you would need to imagine one child, speaking one line, in front of acurtain of black velvet: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us,and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of graceand truth."

While that might save a lot of time and effort people mightfeel a little bit let down. Where’s the star? Bethlehem?

So today we do have a Christmas play one character sayingmuch the same thing,— and its meant to be minimal and massive at the same time.

The one character is a man sent from God whose name is John.He is not called by any title like John the Baptist. He is just plain John, whowill not even say that much when the religious authorities come to questionhim.

He spends most of his time telling people who he is not. Iam not this. I am not that. I am not even worthy to untie his sandals. He isthere for one purpose. To tell people that the light is coming into the world.

John 1:6-8, 19-28

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 Hecame as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe throughhim. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light....

19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sentpriests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 Heconfessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah."21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "Iam not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." 22Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those whosent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am the voiceof one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'"as the prophet Isaiah said.

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They askedhim, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, norElijah, nor the prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptize withwater. Among you stand one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming afterme; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." 28 This took placein Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing

Last week we were hearing about terrible fires travellingdown the west coast of California.

One of Sandy’s oldest and dearest friends called Lois livesjust north of San Diego. And we thought we should just check that she was okay.And thankfully she and her family are fine.

But I remembered a conversation I had with Lois a long timeago about the particular challenges of living where they did. It’s very dry andthey make sure that the trees could catch light are kept a long way away fromtheir house. And they have to have an emergency evacuation plan in case thewinds and fires come up quickly. I talked with her a bit about this plan andthe things, if it came down to it, she would grab if there was a fire coming.And do you know what she would take in such an emergency. Apart from her thenyoung son the pets and her husband? Top of the list of inanimate objects wouldbe the family photos. I mean they are relatively affluent people .They collectclocks and some art and they have nice bits and pieces so why would photos betheir most precious things?

And I think I have to agree with Lois. In a panic wife kidsprobably then photo albums and some things from our history.  How many would agree with that order?  Roughly. You’d go for the shoes?  Golf clubs.

Thankfully we have one person in our household who’s quitegood at putting together photo albums and it’s not me. And the kids can look atthe photos even as young adults and remember the stories of what went with thephotos. And Id don’t think it would matter if we brought these albums out everymonth or once a  year our children wouldstill enjoy looking at the picture remembering the events and even filling insome of the forgotten details. The pictures are mostly ordinary pictures ofkids riding a bike sitting in car at a family picnic up on stage as a bumblebee or a cloud or a tree. They are ordinary and yet they are in a way soimportant as well. They speak of important things of shared memories of momentof happiness of things that brought us together and speak about our importanceto one another and our excitement at a small or big adventure or discovery.

Ordinary things and yet extraordinary special things existingbeside each other. And if we went around his morning we would discoversomething we already know. The things that are so normal so common place, thethings that we can all name: falling in love, being hurt, losing someone welove bearing children, are also extraordinary things - they change our lives forever. And they happen all the time.

We don’t have to venture into the abnormal strange orsupernatural. Those transformative things are present with us every day. 

Our scriptures this morning follow on from John’s Christmasstory.  Four words that are the essenceof our scriptures. O logos egeneto sarqs. The word of God became flesh.  Anddwelt among us.   The word didn’t becomea credit card or a great building or a memory or even a powerful idea or fearor threat. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. The most extraordinarywithin the most ordinary. The most extraordinary in the midst of the mostordinary.

 6 There was a mansent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to thelight, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light,but he came to testify to the light....

John is not introduced by family name or place of origin. Heis not principally a baptizer, a prophet, an exhorter, or even a messenger fromGod. John is a martyria, a witness, sent by God to testify to "the Wordmade flesh," "the Light" that no darkness has or will everextinguish. The principal vocation of John in this Gospel then is to bearwitness. In fact we are told thirty-three times in this Gospel that that is hisjob.

A fire threatens and we try to remember where we have leftthe photo albums.

A troubling thing happens, and we think that it might betime to start praying again.

But John is saying the light is here now, the word madeflesh in our midst, and the darkness has never overcome it.

Remember, when we were looking at Genesis, creation beinglifted out of the meaningless chaos, now we have the word becoming flesh andit’s unbelievable to the world around, even the familiar world.

One of the things you and I are being asked to do, and Ithink it is both difficult and kind of refreshing, is that inevitably we aregoing to have to struggle to comprehend what is going on here.

The story of Jesus birth,  this is what it looks like,  when the word becomes flesh.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can’tovercome, can’t comprehend it, though it tries its best. Jesus we hear speaksthe truth, the plain and simple words

There is joy and wonder and celebration and there is alsothis strange, dark strand running through the gospel that stops us fullydomesticating the Christmas story.  It isabout God’ word, this light into the darkness of our world, our lives, ourhearts, our imaginations, and the darkness not comprehending it.  It’s about God, God-as-a-little-child, God asfriend of sinners, God as a betrayed outcast, speaking the word of truth, and nobody knowing what he’s talking about.

These verses are special to those who haven’t got it allworked out. The good news is that along with the uncertainty and even rejectionwe read about ,  we  come across all sorts of people who hear andrecieve Jesus’ words  ‘As many asreceived him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, who were bornnot of human will or flesh, but of God’. ‘If you abide in my words, you will know the truth and the truth shallset you free’ (8.31f.).  ‘If anyone keepsmy words, that person will never see death’ (8.51).  ‘

We can’t divide up those who can understand what Jesus issaying that those who can’t.  Just as wecan’t divide up those who saw the birth of God among us from those who turnedMary and and Jospe away from the inn, the crowds who one day proclaims Jesus saviour and then next supportshis crucifixion. We’re part of all that. By ourselves, we none of us can claim to be on one side or theother.  Jesus is born into a world whereso many are  deaf and blind to him andwhat he’s saying; but some, we hear about, in all their uncertainty, allow hiswords to challenge, rescue, heal and transform them. 

Whatever place we are in now, God of creation, God ofresurrection God of the Word which becomes flesh, flesh with us, - calls us tofollow to hear to receive. As people, as the church here in Clevedon,  the extraordinary within the ordinary,  the aby the word here among us now  - so let us open ourselves to what God issaying now. AMEN