Today in the Spirit: Christmas 1ABC
Take note of the preposition in the title the BCP uses for the next two Sundays, “The First Sunday of Christmas” and “The Second Sunday of Christmas.” “Of,” not “After” as in the “Second Sunday After Pentecost.” We celebrate not just Christmas day, but the Christmas season until the feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ on 6 January. The church’s choice of readings is identical across all three years of the lectionary for the two Sundays in the Christmas season. This is to accord due weight in our worship to the most important texts of Scripture concerning the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reading for Christmas 1 every year is John 1:1-18, the entire prologue of the Gospel of John, containing some of the most compelling and memorable passages in the Bible, including: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (1); and, “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” (14).
Our assigned OT reading from Isaiah 61:10-62:5 contains spectacular biblical imagery for conveying the transformative effects of God’s bringing salvation to the world. Rejoicing is a key theme throughout. For Israel there will be renewed rejoicing over prosperity in the world, a rejuvenated reputation among the nations and, most of all, a restored relationship with YHWH:
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For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 62:5
Similarly, the appointed Psalm 147:12-20 gives voice in the present tense to that which is predicted in the future tense of the OT reading. In our worship, we join the chorus of those who have received the eternal favor of the one God in verses such as these: “He declares his word unto Jacob, his statutes and ordinances unto Israel. He has not dealt so with other nations; neither have they knowledge of his laws. Praise the Lord” (19-20, BCP New Coverdale).
But what if you are not by blood a member of the nation of Israel? The assigned NT reading out of Galatians 3:23-4:7 declares the full inclusion of all whose faith is in Christ for salvation: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (3:28). What is more, the passage proclaims freedom from the condemnation of the law with salvation through Christ: “So you [Jewish and Gentile members] are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (4:7).
The assigned Collect, picking up on the theme of light coming into the world so prevalent during the Advent-Christmas cycle, petitions for power from God in his people, “that this light, kindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The Collect
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, kindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
For Zion’s Sake (Isaiah 61:10-62:5)
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
Isaiah 61:10-62:5
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
Many commentators believe this prophetic song was delivered by Isaiah for the benefit of the earliest group of exiles who returned to Jerusalem before the official sanction of Cyrus and the Persian empire. Surely the names “Forsaken” (4a) and “Desolate” (4b) would have resonated with them as they were the first to look at the horrible condition of the holy city they found on their return.
But, who is the “I” (61:10) speaking in the passage: Is it the prophet? Is it the Messiah (continuing to speak from 61:1)? Is it the people of God, Israel, figured as one body? Is it one character at the beginning and another at the end (from 62:1)? I will take the position that it is the Messiah Servant from 61:10-11 and the people of Israel (perhaps joining the Messiah as one body) in 62:1-5. In that case, the Christ is speaking in a prophetic past mode as if his work is already done (“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,…for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation”); and the people, with spirits lifted by the Messiah, speak to one another about an unimaginably bright future (“You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God”). This passage is a testimony to the power of Spirit-filled encouragement delivered out of the truth of the word.
Devotionally, hearing this passage in our worship, we give thanks for, and loyal support to, those called by God to hold out for people a godly vision from Scripture of what is spiritually–and thus truly–going on around us. We often look at the circumstances we are in, as did the returnees to Jerusalem, with eyes that can see nothing except ruin and chaos. Thanks be to God for church leaders–especially in our tradition bishops and priests–who can commiserate with us whose heads are down, but then lift our chins to see “the crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD (3).” They remind us of those new names given to us by the Father God, “My Delight Is in Her” and “Married,” so that slowly but surely we live into them.
Today, Holy Spirit, in this Christmas season, we worship you and the Father at the coming of the Son, and hear your encouragement spoken into our hearts by those assigned to declare the word of sure hope.
He…Blesses Your People within You (Psalm 147:12-20)
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem;
Psalm 147:12-20, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
praise your God, O Zion.
13 For he has made strong the bars of your gates
and has blessed your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders
and fills you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends forth his commandment upon the earth,
and his word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool
and scatters the white frost like ashes.
17 He casts forth his ice like crumbs;
who is able to abide his frost?
18 He sends out his word and melts them;
he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word unto Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances unto Israel.
20 He has not dealt so with other nations;
neither have they knowledge of his laws. Praise the Lord.
Or, “He strengthens the bar of your gates and blesses your people within you” (13, NIV). The contemporary translation “people” here, for a Hebrew word literally meaning “sons” or “children,” is undoubtedly intended to address concerns about gender inclusivity. Still, I wonder whether it also has the effect of moving us away from a too nuclear reading of the text. In context, the song’s subject is the people of Israel as a community. This part of the praise psalm is addressing “Jerusalem” (perhaps the city rebuilt after the exile) and “Zion,” the whole people of God. The “bars of your gates” refers not to the gates of a family home, but the entrances to the city surrounded by walls. We are meant to imagine the whole believing community as the object of God’s “unfailing love,” not just a family home.
Meditating on this psalm beforehand, we do well to take this observation into our Sunday worship. Rather than thinking just of ourselves as individually “made strong,” or our nuclear family as “blessed,” we are meant to sing these words with eyes fixed on the church community, declaring that together we are “blessed” by the coming of Christ. In Ephesians, Paul writes at the outset to the church: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (1:3). Here we gain a heightened sense of the church as the holy family, a kinship even more exalted in God’s eyes than blood relations (see Mk. 3:31-34). At the very least, these texts must set aside that awful but commonly accepted notion that, in the local church, we are merely a collection of people who happen to gather for worship in the same building.
Today, with the Spirit’s help to perceive the “blessed” community of the church, we rejoice with the psalmist over the love of God for all of us, especially in sending Jesus Christ.
Born under the Law (Galatians 3:23-4:7)
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. 4:1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Galatians 3:23-4:7
Notice Paul’s repeated use of “under the law” (the same words in Greek, too) in this passage: First, he states at the outset that, “[Jewish Christians] were held captive under the law” (3:23); then, that Christ was “born under the law” (4:5). Are we to suppose that both Christians and Christ are equally “under the law”? No. It is my view that, in the second case, the apostle intends to convey something more profound about the condition of Christ’s coming into the world: that he was human and, like every Jewish person, culturally under the guardianship of the law. But, as we see in the Gospel accounts, Jesus, who was without sin and never a lawbreaker, was never spiritually “imprisoned” by the law. The “guardian” holds the keys to freedom for everyone else, while Jesus says, “Hand them over!” Think of Jesus saying, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Lk. 6:5). This captures the spirit of it.
Devotionally, we can now consider the full impact of Paul’s language regarding the awe-inspiring results of the coming of this God-Man: his birth, his death, and his resurrection. “To redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” means that, through faith in him, we are also set free. It is as if Jesus of Nazareth had broken down the bars of the prison cell he himself was born into, walked out, turned around, and said, “You coming?” Surprisingly, many do not come–but a few of us do, running on the path he has made. And, when we find ourselves falling back under bondage, the way is still clear for us to come out again at his gentle urging. Every day we do this—until, when heaven meets earth in fullness, we leave it behind for good.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, today, I turn to you, Jesus, calling me out of my imprisonment to sin, past the law guardian, to liberty, living the life of a child of the Father God.
Grace upon Grace (John 1:1-18)
14 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. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 1:14-18
Consider the two parenthetical references to John the Baptist in this passage (6-8,15): As hearers in our worship of John the Evangelist’s Prologue, they feel like strange flashes to the material world in the midst of theater in the cosmos; they are like looking dreamily into the sky and finding the clear shape of an animal in the clouds.
What is the Gospeler doing with the Baptizer in this passage? One answer is that he is contrasting two distinct movements of God’s self-revelation in the world. From the information we gather from the Gospels, John the Baptist was full of truth but not grace. John was the last great mouthpiece of the legal paradigm. Our Lord Jesus, the Prologue says, was revealed to the world “full of grace and truth.” Not merely an agreeable mixture of the two, as we might find in any person we admire, Jesus is the uncanny combination of one-hundred percent grace and truth. And, compellingly, the Prologue goes on to say that “from his fullness [of grace and truth corresponding to v. 14] we [meaning believers of any generation] have all received, grace upon grace” (16). That is to say, if I might make an amateur’s leap of interpretation, the fullness of truth is received in our souls as all grace. We are never merely enlightened or condemned by the revelation of Jesus Christ, as with John and all the prophets before him, but always pardoned, always empowered, and always rewarded.
In our worship at Christmas, the call of this seminal passage is to surrender to the call of grace, not just once in a conversion prayer, but moment by moment in a ceaseless cycle of repentance, forgiveness, and renewal throughout our mortal lives. In fact, we find in Scripture that, even beyond the grave, the depths from which we, the people of God, are rescued by grace through Christ the Lamb are remembered and celebrated for eternity. Consider the first song to include the prayers of the saints in Revelation: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (5:9-10).
Today, in the Spirit, we worship the Father who sent the Son, bringing all-consuming and never-ending “grace upon grace.”
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