"Christ Has Come" based on John 1:1-5, 14 (1 of 3)

Advent Midweek - 1, December 3, 2008

Pastor Troy Slater Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Herington, Kansas

Ready or not, December is here; Advent is of course now here; the Holiday season is upon us; despite my feeble protests the days are getting increasingly darker and colder - Advent is here. And of course Advent is the start of the church calendar. And well the church calendar is nothing that is commanded from heaven but we follow it because the church has developed it over the centuries and it serves a good purpose - it takes us through the whole counsel or Word of God. For with the church calendar we begin with Advent which teaches us to look forward to and prepare for the coming of the Lord - much like God's Old Testament people did. We then go to Christmas and Epiphany and Lent and Easter which all of course take us through the birth, the life, the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We then move into the Pentecost and post-Pentecost season as we sit at our risen Savior's feet and learn about the Kingdom of God and hear how He promises to be with us as He sends us out into the world to make disciples of all nations. Of course the church year then concludes as we look forward to our Lord's return in glory to judge the living and the dead and to take us to our eternal home. It's the church year and it all begins with Advent.

But Advent is more than just the church's idea - it's more than just a part of a humanly-devised system that moves us through the whole counsel of God. You see Advent is also a fact of history. Advent is a fact of history. For that word 'advent' it means "to come" or "to arrive". And it is a fact of history that the Lord God Himself came, He arrived. Of course we call it the incarnation, don't we?. God in human flesh. John describes it in our reading for this evening like this: "the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." It's the incarnation, the Word becoming flesh. And it's a fact of history. God Himself leaving His throne in heaven for a manger in Bethlehem. It's a fact of history. The Creator exchanging the worship of heavenly cherubim and seraphim for dependence upon an earthly father and mother. It's a fact of history.

It's a fact of history that we confess in the Apostles' Creed, don't we? "Conceived by the Holy Spirit" - Conception - it's a natural process - a process of this world - a fertilized egg, a womb, placenta, umbilical cord. "The Word became flesh". "Born of the virgin Mary" we say. Mary - a real woman living in a real place giving birth to a real baby at a real time. A place we could go visit today. A baby able to be held. A time every bit as real as the time of your birth or mine. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." God became flesh, it's a fact of history.

And it is this historicity of the incarnation of God Himself, that really our whole faith hinges upon, doesn't it? For if God had not become the babe in Bethlehem then He could not have grown to be the Savior on the cross. If He did not become a baby dependent upon His mother - like we have all been - well then He could not have grown to be one who felt the pain and the shame as He was crucified for our sins. He had to be like us in every way - real people living in a real fallen world. He had to be a real person who suffered under a real person - a person whom in fact we can even find in the history books - Pontius Pilate. A real person who was crucified on a real cross made of real wood from a real tree. Real lungs that stopped inhaling and exhaling - a real heart that slowly stopped beating as His life was drained from Him - a real process we call death and which repeats itself over and over and over again in this real, sinful, fallen world. "God became flesh and made His dwelling among us." It's a fact of history, our history, this world's history.

I don't understand it. Actually if anyone says they do understand it they either don't really understand what they're saying or they're lying. "The Word becoming flesh", God Himself coming to be among us - yes even with as cruel and as violent and as selfish as we can be. God coming to be among us that He might die for us. No, I don't understand it. I believe it by God's grace, as you do too through that gift of faith, but I don't understand it. Sure there are words we sometimes use to describe it - "the incarnation", "sacrificial love", "the Gospel", "A Great and Mighty Wonder", "Immanuel - God with us", "Joy to the World", "good tidings of great joy", "Amazing Grace" - but you know, none of it quite can capture it, can it? "The Word becoming flesh that He might make His dwelling among us", even when that dwelling was upon a cross. No words cannot describe it, can they? But He came nonetheless. He did it. He did it for me, He did it for you. It's a fact of history.

Yes Advent is a fact of history. And thank God it is. For only a real Savior can give us a real salvation. God has come. Christ has come. It's a fact of history. Amen.