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The other day Chelsea was in the dental chair and out of the blue the
hygienist said, “When I get to heaven, I want to sing like Barbara
Streisand.” I have to say that I have a lot of hopes for heaven, but
that one never even entered my mind. In fact, there is even one thing
about which I might want to contest Barbara Streisand. Way back in
1970 she sang a song that many of you know, “On a Clear Day You Can
See Forever.” I did a little study on this and discovered that it is
simply not true. According to a research project done at San Diego
State University the record for seeing on a clear day was set in 1923
on the Korzenewsky expedition when at sunset they saw snow capped
mountain peaks that were 466 miles away. Now while that is
impressive, as it would mean we could see from here to Tulsa,
Oklahoma, it is not forever. I guess one could count the sun as the
farthest anyone could see on a clear day, but that is still only 93
million miles away.
I think the song would have been closer to accurate if she would have
sung, “On a Clear Night You Can See Forever.” I also did some
research on this. The Andromeda Galaxy is visible without aid on a
clear night and it is 2.5 million light years away. Contrast that to
the sun that is 8 light minutes away and you see my point. We can see
so much farther at night.
On this night, Christmas Eve, we can see even farther still. On this
clear night we really can see forever. Listen to how the Gospel
writer, John, began his Christmas story. We find these words in John
1:1-14. Hear now the word of the Lord:
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.
2He
was in the beginning with God.
3All
things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came
into being. What has come into being
4in
him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
5The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6There was a man sent from God, whose name was
John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so
that all might believe through him.
8He
himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was
coming into the world.
10He was in the world, and the world came into
being through him; yet the world did not know him.
11He came to what was his own, and his own people
did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his
name, he gave power to become children of God,
13who were born, not of blood or of the will of
the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14And 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 grace and truth.
The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to
God. In this passage John began his story of good news by
revealing the mystery of the incarnation. All the Christmas presents
that we have looked at this month are wrapped up in this one
extraordinary gift – God with us. Let us pray.
On a clear night you really can see forever
You can see Divine Eternity
The very first words of John take us back to the
beginning. Just like the first words of the Old Testament, when the
author of Genesis wrote, “In the beginning God created…” so in these
first words of John’s New Testament account, we have “in the beginning
was the Word.” They take us all that way back into eternity, not
simply to the beginning of time, but even before that. Genesis 1
describes a formless void full of darkness and chaos until God spoke,
until the Word sprang into action. John takes us all the way into
eternity with those magnificent words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All
things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came
into being.”
The other day, my sixteen year old son, Zac, and I were talking about
how far back into time we can reach. I shared with him about the time
that I met Martha. Martha was 93 years old when I met her. She
served me Blue Bell ice cream in her kitchen. As we sat at her table
eating ice cream she pointed out to the huge oak tree in her back yard
and said, “Do you see that tree? My husband and I planted that tree
from a coffee can when we were first married.” Then she told me
stories of her life. She told me about her husband and then talked
about her father. However, before she told me about her father, she
asked me about my origins. I told her that I was from Findlay, Ohio.
She smiled what looked to be almost a condescending smile from her
kind face. She then said, “Is that right? My daddy was a colonel in
the Civil War from Tennessee.” I started to do the math
in my head. I had never met a child of a Civil War veteran. She told
me that her daddy was in his late fifties when she was born and shared
some wonderful stories of riding behind her daddy on horseback as they
went to town to run errands. By the end of our visit she had almost
forgiven me for growing up on the wrong side of the country and I felt
connected to a time long ago.
Tonight we can see farther than that. We can see
eternity. In the beginning was the
Word. On a clear night you really can see forever.
You can see Divine Light
The first word God speaks in Genesis 1 is,
“light” and there was light as soon as God spoke, “Let there be
light.” Now we read that the Word is Light to all people. Can you
see the light tonight?
I read this week that the Ring Nebula also known as
Messier 57 is a ring of bright light around a star. The light is said
to be about 2,000 light years away, which means that the light we see
when we locate Messier 57 originated at the same time as the event we
celebrate tonight. That fascinates me. It is as if I am connected to
the story as I realize that tonight as I look up at the stars, look
into forever, I am seeing light that shined on the night of our dear
Savior’s birth.
This seemed to be John’s motivation for writing this.
We see in this light, the light of eternity, the light that opens up
our hearts to a story that we can hardly believe. In fact, even in
unbelief we connect with the story. For he came to the world he
created, and the world did not recognize him. He came to the people
he called his own, but they did not receive him, did not believe him.
Yet some did believe, and they were and are given power to be called
“Children of God.” Look at the light tonight and hear the ages echo,
“Child of God.” It is not a heritage that can be traced for
generations and generations as if an ancient branch on the family
tree, it is a direct connection to the Word, the One of eternity.
On a clear night you really can see forever.
You can see Divine Glory
I can think of no verse more amazing than John 1:14, “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 grace and truth.”
Søren
Kierkegaard
attempted to explain this unparalleled act of humility in his story, “The
King and the Maiden.” The nineteenth century philosopher/poet
began his story, “Suppose there was a king who loved a humble
maiden.” Then he outlined how difficult it would be for this powerful
ruler to declare his love, and how even more difficult it would be for
the humble maiden to reciprocate. The king was so powerful that all
feared him. One would not be able to distinguish an expression of
love from a mandate for obedience. The reciprocation of that love
would be seen as aspiration to a lofty status of the expressee or
resignation to the power of the expresser. Kierkegaard concluded that
the only option is for the Ruler to take the form of the lowest of
servants, as love desires equality with the beloved. He reveals his
thinly veiled point by stating that God did just that and it can be
seen on the night in which we can see forever. He wrote, “The
servant-form was no mere outer garment…God must suffer all things,
endure all things, experience all
things…hunger…thirst…forsakenness…death…Anything else would be a
deception in the eyes of love.”
Yet this isn’t at all what was expected. Tranquility
for the troubled was to be ushered in with the spirit and
confrontational power of Elijah. Hope for the hopeless was promised in
one who would strike the earth and kill the wicked. Joy to the World
would be brought about when the proud were scattered. Passion for
purpose was to be found in the king, but what we have here is the king
in the form of a humble servant, a powerless baby. But remember what
I said at the beginning - all the Christmas presents that we have
looked at this month are wrapped up in this one extraordinary gift –
God with us. Tonight I invite to look in the eyes of this child with
the eyes of faith. Perhaps you too will be able to see his glory, the
glory as of the Father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
It is a beautiful night that we have been given, a
clear night. On a clear night you really can see forever.
On this night you can see eternity, divine light, divine glory.
O Holy night the stars are brightly shining. It is the
night of our dear savior’s birth. On this clear night you really
can see forever. |
