25 December 2022 - Christmas Day

 

Theme

This year, Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. Our Christmas Day readings remind us of Christ’s eternal nature and God’s ultimate victory. It is a victory that the prophets hoped for and that the psalmists praised. This victory is fully realised in the eternal Christ. The incarnation of Christ was fully realised in Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Son, who revealed God’s glory with love and faithfulness.

Scripture Readings

  • Isaiah 52:7-10 - Isaiah declares that it is beautiful when the messenger brings Good News that the God of Israel reigns. The whole earth will see and experience the victory that God has brought.
  • Psalm 98 - An encouragement to sing for joy to the Lord who has claimed victory and will judge the nations of the Earth with justice and fairness.
  • Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12) - God used to speak to people through prophets, but now he has spoken through his Son. God’s Son is the exact representation of his being. He now sits at the right hand of God and rules over all created beings. The angels bow down and worship him.
  • John 1:1-14 - Christ is an eternal being that was with God at the creation of the world. Everything that has ever been created has been done so through Christ. Christ is the light of the world and no darkness can extinguish the light. John the baptists was sent to tell about this light that was coming into the world. Christ became human and came into the world he created but was despised and rejected by most. But those who accepted him are reborn and are called children of God. God’s glory was seen in Jesus the Christ because of his unfailing love and faithfulness.

The Liturgical Context

The lectionary readings for Christmas Day are the same every year. However, there are three separate groups of readings provided for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day which are sometimes used for the Christmas Day service. For these lectionary reflections, I am reflecting on the traditionally prescribed readings for Christmas Day (Proper 3)

Personal Application

Some might consider it strange that the prescribed Gospel reading for Christmas Day says nothing about Jesus’ actual birth. There is no manger, no baby, no angels, shepherds or wise men. Rather, the first chapter of John speaks of the Cosmis Christ - Christ who is eternally present and co-creator of all.

While some might doubt its relevance as an appropriate Christmas passage, I think it is perfect for the occassion. Christmas is the season where we honour and reflect on the incarnation of Christ, particularly in the person of Jesus. John 1 reminds us that Christ’s incarnation goes even beyond the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Christ is incarnate in every place we go and every person we meet.

As we celebrate Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day, we also celebrate and acknowledge Christ’s incarnation in every person and place.

How does Christ’s eternal presence in every person and place change the way that we treat other people and the earth?

Communal Application

As well as reminding us of Christ’s incarnation throughout the world and humanity, this week’s readings focus on the Victory of God and the Lordship of Christ. Christ’s incarnation is a cause for celebration! The victory that the prophets hoped for and the psalmists praised has been fully realised the incarnation of Christ.

While many people expected (and still seem to expect) that God’s victory is won by force and power, the way that Jesus lived and died reminds us that God’s victory is different to what is traditionally expected. Rather than this being disheartening to us, it should encourage us that we can also take part in realising God’s dream for the world and humanity by following Jesus’ example. We too can reveal God’s glory to the world by living lives of love and faithfulness. If we truly believe that Christ is King then our lives should reflect that of the ultimate incarnation of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.

Do our church communities reflect the love and faithfulness of the one we claim to follow? What does Christ’s incarnation in the person of Jesus mean for our churches and their priorities today?

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