Grace Lutheran Church Sermon Christmas Day, December 25, 2006

The Rev. Evan Gaertner

+ In Nomine Jesu +

Christmas Day “Witnesses to the Glory of God”

December 25, 2006 John 1:1-14

Windows are a view of what is on the other side. A mirror shows yourself. There are times when the view outside a window is much better than the view I get when looking at a mirror. Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We celebrate that we need to no longer look at our own sinfulness but can be witnesses to the glory of God. St. John the Evangelist records in the opening to his gospel, “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.”

Jesus Christ, full of grace and truth, is a picture window for us into the glory of God. Jesus himself by becoming flesh is a setting aside of the commandment to not make any graven images of the Lord God.

As a part of the commandment that we shall not worship any other gods the commandment prohibited making any graven images of the Lord God. Before Jesus was born all that we knew about God was immaterial, without shape. In fact it would have been blasephmous to even attempt to make an image of God. When Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the people cried out to Aaron to fashion for them a golden calf so that they would have something tangible to worship. Moses came down smashed the Ten Commandments with righteous anger at the unbelief of the people.

Even today in Islam it is prohibited to make any image that is meant to represent Allah and so that is why Islamic religious artwork is not images but fancy calligraphy forming words from the Qu’ran.

However Biblical prohibitions against attempting to make material depictions of God have been set aside by the birth of Jesus. The one through whom all things were made has become flesh and dwelt among us. The glory of God had been too powerful even for Moses to witnesses. On Mount Sinai the glory of God was revealed in the Ten Commandments. But the Law of God would not bring us to that glory. Mount Sinai did not bring us closer to God and his glory but in fact drives us to our knees and points us to our need for a savior. The Ten Commandments show us how far we are away from the glory of God if we try to get there on our own. The Ten Commandments were not a window into the glory of God but a mirror showing us our own sinfulness.

With vanity some may think of a mirror as a friend, but the mirror of God’s law does not show us grace, mercy, hope or peace. The mirror of God’s law shows us the utter bleak darkness of sin. St. Paul in Romans chapter three reminds us, “We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

But today on Christmas we celebrate that we have been given a window into the glory of God and the view is full of grace and truth. In Jesus Christ we are witnesses to the glory of God. We have seen in Jesus the desire of our Lord that would not perish but have eternal life.

The first known icon of the nativity was purchased by pilgrims to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the 4^th century. It centers upon Mary who is depicted larger than any of the other character and the baby Jesus. Jesus is shown in a cave, which is a little different than our modern barn style manger scenes. But a cave would not be all that unusual for a person around Bethlehem to place his animals. What is notable about this cave is how dark black it is painted in comparison to the light colors of the rest of the icon. It is a reminder that Jesus has come into our abyss, our darkness to bring his light. The cave also is immediately a reminder of the cave that our Lord would be placed into thirty-three years later.

Inside the cave are an ox and a donkey which are parts of almost every nativity scene even though they are not mentioned in the gospels. The ox and donkey are present as a fulfillment of Isaiah 1:3 “The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”

While we may struggle like Israel did to find our Lord God and instead run after false hopes and promises, the ox knows his master and the donkey his owner’s manger. The donkey knows where to feed. He will feed upon the grace and truth of the glory of God revealed in the baby Jesus.

Icons in the Eastern Orthodox Church are used to help a person worship God by giving a window into the grace and truth of our Lord.

The greatest image of God we have ever seen of course could not be painted, in the person and work of Jesus Christ we are witnesses to the glory of God.

Look with me into this world of ours with a refreshed set of eyes. It is easy to become jaded, cynical about what is going on in this world. But with the birth of Jesus we are given a new a new view to see the glory of God. Jesus could look from heaven above and see the dark abyss of our sinful world. He nevertheless came no matter how dirty the view may have been. During his ministry he cured the sick, healed the blind, and gave voice the mute. He changed the viewpoint of so many during his ministry. He turned them away from looking into their own misery and instead gave them a view into God’s grace and truth.

In his passion on the cross he was mocked, beaten, and suffered death. He saw our tomb, our death, our darkness. He looked through our window into our lives. The view surely was not pretty, but he did not turn away.

The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. From heaven above to earth he came drawn by his love and not turned away by our sin. He entered our lives he became a part of our story because he saw that there was no good ending possible. Now through Jesus we can look out into this world of ours with confidence. No matter what you look out and witness this upcoming year, you need not hide or be afraid. Our savior has been born. We have seen the glory of God. And he is here with us now.

Jesus has come. Now the view out our window is completely different. Look with me out into this world and help me show people the window into their salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria

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