John 1:1-18
As
I sat on the couch watching the ball drop in Times Square I thought about a few
things. First, I thought about how convenient it was when we lived in Colorado
to watch the ball drop at 10 pm our time and then send the kids to bed. Then, I
thought about what the experience must be like for the over 1 million people
packed into Times Square. I googled “what time do you have to arrive for New
Year’s Eve at Times Square” and found a set of tips. It said that gates open at
3pm but you need to arrive much earlier, like 10 am if you want a good spot. It
also says “You’ll be standing for many hours in the cold, so bring layers,
snacks, water and patience.” Furthermore, “There are virtually no public
restrooms, so many people wear diapers …” oh and no chairs allowed. Also, it
said with wind chill, the temperature felt like it was in the teens. I felt
grateful for my warm couch.
It is an interesting thing to think about. Millions of
people standing with no chairs for about 14 hours in the freezing cold … likely
in wet diapers. And all to watch an occasional famous or once famous performer
if you are close enough to the front and a few scattered hosts making jokes and
then a giant ball descend in the last 10 seconds. And then … that’s it. It’s a
new year.
The promise of a new year is a lovely thing and I would say
worth getting excited about (like silly hats and noise makers excited if not
wet diaper excited). There is something alluring and promising about throwing
away the old calendar and having a fresh start. It’s all about looking forward,
imagining what can be and saying good bye to the past. Picturing a newer,
fitter, healthier, wealthier, happier version of ourselves and with determination,
deciding on a resolution or two that will get you there. It is a time of optimism,
hope and the courage to commit to new things.
One of my favorite New Year’s practices is to pray John
Wesley’s Covenant Prayer which we prayed today and is in your bulletin if you
want to look at the words again. I love this prayer. I love the drama of it,
the strong words of commitment and determination but also of relinquishing
control. These words of newly handing over all that we are to God and trusting
in God’s will for us, God’s story for our new year. It is like an offering of
our plans, our will, our thoughts on what is best. An offering to God, to be
blessed, accepted and transformed. It is a prayer that can be said at any time,
but I love saying it at the start of the new year when hearts are a bit more
open to possibility and new direction.
It is also a fitting response to an epiphany. When one realizes
that all that we are comes from God and that God loves us and wants what is
best for us, then one wants to respond to that epiphany with an act of
devotion, like a covenant prayer. And today is when we celebrate Epiphany
Sunday. The Epiphany we celebrate is the arrival of the wise men at the sight
of the star over where Christ is born. While we often add the wise men to our
Christmas nativity scenes, it isn’t until later, on Epiphany that we celebrate
their arrival.
The arrival of the wise men takes it from an intimate birth
scene to an international event. The wise men represent all of us who live far
from that place, all of us who come from different backgrounds, but are called
to follow the star, the light of God’s love present to us in Jesus Christ. And
it comes with a calling, to continue to spread the news, spread the word, tell
others that God has come to earth in the form of a baby and his name is Jesus.
Like New Year’s resolutions and the covenant prayer, it is marking a new start,
it is forward focused, looking ahead at the new calendar and committing
ourselves to a new path. In this case, a path with Christ, illuminated by the
bright star of God’s love.
It is interesting that with all of this future-focus with
all of the determination to follow a new path, with all of the fresh calendars
being hung, the Christmas trees on the curb for the garbage collection, the
decorations being put away and the promise of a fresh new start … today’s
Gospel reading has us looking not forward, but back … way back … as far back as
you can get … all the way to “In the Beginning.”
You see, the beginning of the Christmas story has different
starting points in the four different Gospels (of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)
in the Bible. Luke begins his story with a telling of what happened to
Zechariah and his realization that he and his wife Elizabeth would birth John
the Baptist and then we hear about Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel and
then the birth of Christ. Matthew starts his telling of the story with the lineage
of Christ, showing the family line from Abraham to David to Jesus and then he
tells the story of Christ’s birth. And Mark, who tends to be in much more of a
hurry with his storytelling, skips all of the birth explanation and begins
right with John the Baptist baptizing and Jesus coming out of the wilderness,
getting baptized and getting right to work. Those are the beginnings of three
of the Gospels. The other one is John, which we read today.
John begins his telling of the story of Jesus way back to
the very beginning of all of creation. Even starting with the words “In the
beginning” which is meant to call the reader back to those words in Genesis and
the beginning of all of creation. John explains that the Word was with God all
the way at the beginning. The creation of the universe poured out from a divine
intimacy between the Word and God. Creation born out of love. From the
beginning, God intended to be in relationship with creation, that the Word
would become flesh and dwell among us. The salvation story was always a part of
it. All the way back in the beginning.
I think there is something really lovely and important in
taking a look back. Yes, New Year’s is a time of new beginnings and future
plans and looking ahead, but also, what if we take a moment and look back. Not
to see our flaws and our mistakes, but to acknowledge who we are, where we have
come from, all of the brave things we have done and all the ways God has walked
this journey with us.
I thought about this as I worshipped with you all here on
Christmas Eve. Sometime before the worship service I realized it had been a
long time since I preached on Christmas Eve. When I decided to have my second
son, I took family leave from full time ministry. For several years I stayed
home with my two kids and worked as a supply pastor, filling in for clergy on vacation.
I got involved at the church where my husband was serving and helped teach
Sunday School and start a Vacation Bible School. And then we moved to Colorado
and I worked part time on staff where my husband was the senior pastor. And
when you are on staff, you don’t typically preach Christmas Eve, clergy often
jokingly call the Sunday after Christmas “associate pastor’s Sunday” because
the senior pastor typically covers Christmas Eve. So I realized the last time I
preached a Christmas Eve service was 13 years ago.
I remember it well. I remember taking my baby to my husband’s
4pm service and then leaving the baby with a church member as I left early to
get to my service. I remember driving in the cold and dark and thinking about
all the families gathering together in the pews and around dinner tables and
wishing I could be with mine. But I also remember that moment, that beautiful
moment when the lights were turned off, the candles lit, and the voices singing
Silent Night in the dark. I remember standing in front and feeling so full of
love. Looking out at the packed church and seeing the faces of college students
home for Christmas, babies I had baptized, couples I had wed, families of those
I had buried and I remember feeling so much love, love for them and love from
them.
As I stood up here Christmas Eve and looked up in the
darkness of Silent Night to see the packed church with faces illuminated by
candle light, I felt a flood of emotion. I could see all of these faces that
are new to me and are so full of love and welcome and hope and I could also
feel the love of all of those I have shared that moment with before, ones I follow
on social media, ones I receive Christmas cards from and ones I have loved and
lost. And I felt so overwhelmed with love that my breath caught and my eyes
filled. It was beautiful and a moment I will cherish.
Sometimes it is good to look back. To look back and see the
faces of those who have loved us and those we have loved. To see all the twists
and turns on the journey that we have weathered and to look way back, way, way
back, all the way back to the very beginning and know we were always loved,
from the very beginning.
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