Jesu Juva
“Full of Grace and Truth”
Text: John 1:14
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
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.
The Word became flesh. The eternal God was born a man. Perfect God and perfect man in one person. Born to Joseph, born of Mary, in the little town of Bethlehem. He was given the name Jesus, the name chosen not by His earthly father or mother, but by His true Father, His heavenly Father. The name the angel Gabriel told Joseph and Mary and instructed them to name Him. And He dwelt among us some 33 years, and was not ashamed to do so. For the Word becoming flesh was not a lowering of God, but an exalting of man. An exalting we very much need, to say the least. An exalting by our God who is full of grace and truth.
Full of grace and truth. It occurred to me as I read those words that those are two things I would say our world today is not full of! Two things that seem, in fact, to be in very short supply in our world today.
First of all grace, under which umbrella we could include forgiveness, kindness, understanding, patience. In our world today, though, in place of these things, how often do we instead see judgment, harshness, polarization, accusation, grudges, hostility, and more, manifesting themselves in road rage, wars that spring from and perpetuate ancient divisions, cancellation, violence, and prejudice. There is grace in our world, yes. But an indication of how rare it is, is that when we see it, we are surprised, and so rare it is that when we see it, it sometimes becomes an item in the news. That is not how our world was meant to be.
And then truth. Truth is faring no better than grace in our world today. The truth of God’s Word has been denied by many for a long time now. Ancient truths are being questioned, since we know so much better in our day and age. Any objective reality of truth is derided as paternalistic or simply a quest for power, and so truth has become solely subjective - what you think it is. Your truth, my truth, many versions of the truth that cannot be validated, investigated, or questioned. And if you do, there is no grace - you must be dealt with.
But it’s not just in the world, is it? . . . where grace and truth seem to be in short supply. It is in me, too. And I suspect you as well. When I am slow to forgive and quick to judge and hold a grudge. When the very thing I criticize others for is what I myself am guilty of. When what I ask for myself, I am slow to give others. When I know the truth but don’t live by it. When I speak the truth when it helps me and overlook it when it doesn’t. You get the picture . . .
Full of grace and truth is just not how our sinfully-turned-upside-down-world is.
Well geesh, Pastor! Not a very Christmassy sermon! Oh, but it is. The Word becoming flesh is a great miracle, no doubt. It is worth celebrating and rejoicing, indeed. But not just that. We need a Messiah who is not only God and man, but one who is full of grace and truth. For grace without truth is license; truth without grace is tyranny. Our world is filled with those things, with false gods who are both those things, allowing us to do whatever we want (license), and forcing others to do what we want (tyranny). But our God is neither. He is Saviour. He speaks and acts in truth, and He speaks and acts in grace. The truth of our sin and the condemnation we all deserve, and the truth of His grace and the forgiveness He has come to provide for all. And that is what we celebrate and rejoice in this day - not just the birth of a child, but the birth of a Saviour. A Saviour full of grace and truth.
A Saviour, though, who is not only full of grace and truth, but is the source of grace and truth. The one who brought and is still bringing the grace and truth we need into this world. And from the very beginning. When Adam and Eve plunged the world into sin and there was no grace and truth, only sin, fear, and death, the Lord came to save them, speaking truth and speaking grace. When John wrote that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, that is a reference to God dwelling in the Tabernacle and the Temple in the Old Testament - which was the place of speaking the truth of sin and repentance, and speaking the grace of forgiveness. Then in Jesus we see the one who speaks truth and grace, calling sinners to repentance and giving the repentant His forgiveness. That led Him to being crucified by those who didn’t like Him doing that, but even there, on the cross, Jesus speaks truth and grace. And still here today is Jesus, dwelling among us in His Word and Sacraments, in truth and grace. For this is who Jesus is; this is who God is - the one full of grace and truth.
Which is exactly what our world needs. Which is exactly what we need. You can’t wrap truth and grace in colorful paper with a bow and put it under a tree, but you can wrap it in human flesh and place Him in a manger. And you can wrap grace and truth in water, words, and bread and wine, and speak them, pour them, and feed them to us. And not just on Christmas, and not just every Sunday, but every day. That with Jesus full of grace and truth, and then we filled with the Jesus who is grace and truth, that we then take that grace and truth out of this place with us and fill the world with that grace and truth. The grace and truth it so desperately needs.
John also said of this Word made flesh, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth, that we have seen his glory. What was he referring to there? Seeing His glory? Was it Jesus’ birth? His transfiguration, when He shone in all His glory? His cross? His resurrection? His ascension? Well, yes! All of it. For while God is certainly glorious in Himself, the glory of God that we see is in Him doing all this for you in love. He is not a God who does not care about you, nor a tyrannical God - but a God who came into your flesh and blood. Who came to be with you, to be one of you. And that’s glorious.
So when John wrote, we have seen His glory . . .
We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus stopped and healed.
We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus forgave.
We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus raised the dead.
We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus cleansed lepers.
We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus wept with those who were mourning.
We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus did not reject those everybody else did.
We have seen His glory . . . when Jesus died, and rose, and ascended.
And now we see His glory in the Church, where Jesus is still loving and mercying and serving us, full of grace and truth, still.
This past month, as you thought about and searched for gifts for others, you probably wondered what to get? What does this person need? What does this person want? And if you’re like me, you had a hard time with that for some people! But not God. He knows exactly what you need, and what you need most of all: namely, Him, and His grace and truth.
So as Isaiah proclaimed: your salvation comes.
As Paul wrote to Titus: When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us . . . according to his own mercy; according to who He is.
And as John wrote: The Word became flesh . . . full of grace and truth.
Which is all saying the same thing in different ways.
Christmas is many things to many people these days, but it is most of all, this: that there is grace and truth in the world. That there is grace and truth here for you. That what you need, you have, and what you have, you share with others, that grace and forgiveness and love and mercy and truth go out to all the world. Christmas is not the start of that, but it is the fulfillment of it. When God kept His promise - when the Word became flesh.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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