•••••••••••••••|■■■□■■■!☆!■■■□■■|
•••••••••• John 1:1-18
•••••••••• Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7
•••••••••••••••|■■■□■■■!☆!■■■□■■|
○○☆☆☆○○○○¤¤¤○○○○☆☆☆○○
John never refers to the child Jesus, but he does speak of Jesus as Son of God. But the Evangelist does speak of children. And who are these multiple children? John tells us they are those who are born of the Spirit of God, out of the will of God, to be children of God. They have received the gift of the true Light of the World, Jesus Christ, God among us!
We are the children of God. This light has claimed us and revealed us as who we are according to the will of God. Paul speaks powerfully of this truth in the Epistle for this Sunday. He speaks of "the fullness of time" when the unique Son of God was sent by God into the world, born of a woman. And through this holy birth, the apostle proclaims, we as Christians have been adopted as children of God by being joined to Christ.
I absolutely love this imagery of adoption. Part of the reason why this speaks so powerfully to me is because even now as an adult, I cherish the memories of being adopted as a young teenager. The power of that experience is enhanced all the more by the realization that I am basically the same age now that my adopted parents were when they claimed me as their own. I marvel these days in that adoption from both the perspective of a child and of an adult.
The piece of this in which I marvel at the most as an adult is the aspect of grace. It's an element of our adoption as the children of God that often we forget, but never should forget. As sons and daughters of God, we loose sight of the fact that before God we remain as children. What is interesting, though, is that we don't forget this that easily when we think of our human families. I recently saw a television show in which one of the main characters, when faced with the illness and possible death of her mother, made the comment that "when it's your parent, no matter how old you are, it's like you are 6 all over again."
In these Christmas days, I tell you that when we are faced with the reality of being a child of God, it's like we are a newborn child all over again. And when we place ourselves in that manger with Jesus, we encounter something absolutely powerful.
This is powerful because we know that such ones are completely dependent upon parental help. And the beauty of this is found in remebering that God has not failed us. God has not chosen us because of who we are but rather because of who God longs to be for us. God gives us everything that we need to grow day by day as the children of God.
There is great comfort in this. But what do we do with this comfort? Today we find both John and Paul sharing the good news of the adoption of the sons and daughters of God through Jesus. They share this as ones who know keenly that they have been adopted by God and called to share the Light that is Christ with the whole world. They share this light both with those in the faith to encourage the faithful as well as with those who have not yet encountered the light or those who have wandered away from the light and lost their bearings and the identity that God desires for them to embrace. And as they share this light, we are called to share Christ with the faithful, with those who have no faith, and with those who have lost their faith.
We pray for all these ones. The Prayer Book's Prayers of the People Form 5, which we are using at this Mass, include this petition:
For those who do not yet believe, and for
those who have lost their faith, that they
may receive the light of the Gospel, we
pray to you, O Lord.
It's a challenging petition! Simply put, to pray this makes us anxious. If we are honest, the anxiety about this petition is fear that when we pray thus, God will send us to be the ones who spread the light of the Gospel, the awareness of the loving presence of Christ, to these ones who have never heard the faith or who have lost their faith. How often we wish that God would simply send someone else.
But, my friends, where would we be today if we had not received the faithful witness not only of the saints whose names are recorded in Scripture but also those whom we have known face to face in this life who have in word and deed reflected the Light of Christ for us and so many others? Without them, our lives and our identity would be markedly different than they are today.
We know this to be true, and yet all too often we feel utterly unqualified and inept to witness to Christ and share our faith and the difference that Christ has made in us. Remember today that God really does give us everything that we need, especially what we need to be faithful to the will of God.
I have shared this with you many times, but it is worth repeating again. The very reason that I stand before you as a priest of the Church is because at a time when I had rebeled as a teenager and lost the faith, a new friend, another teenager, shared with me her love of her Church and her pastor, both the love she felt and the love she received. She did not intend to draw me in by her sharing, but Jesus did! And so by that faithful witness enabled by Christ the Light of the World, I was drawn to that light and amazed by the warmth and the grace I found in that light.
Friends, there are people all around us in dark places who need to receive the light, who need to be drawn to the awareness of a loving God who longs to adopt them also as children of God. And how shall they be drawn if we are not willing to invite and share.
These ones really do exist right here in Wilkes-Barre. Just a few days ago I spoke with a friend and colleague who is a pastor in a young church here in this city that has intentionally sought out those who have no faith or who have lost their faith. When I became your rector, this church did not exist. Today they average 350 people in worship!
That ought to inspire us to go into the world with confidence and boldness. We should rejoice in this growth even when it happens elsewhere. We should trust that Christ can accomplish this even in our midst. And then we should step out in the world to be the Light of Christ, for we are the children of God who right here and right now are the hands, the feet, the voice and the very heart of Jesus who loves and longs for all persons without exception.
○○☆☆☆○○○○¤¤¤○○○○☆☆☆○○
×÷《》÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷《》÷×
... Father Timothy Alleman ...
×÷《》÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷×÷《》÷×
•••••••••••••|■■■□■■■!!☆!!■■■□■■|