To Become the Child of God - Christmas I 2023

 Christmas I 2023 – St. Mark’s – Dec. 31, 2023- JTCO

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. (John 1.1.12)

(Link to audio file is HERE)

Christmas blessings to you all… I hope you are continuing to celebrate the great twelve days.. this season of light…

At our house, son Max has headed back to his marine base in Hawaii,  presents have been purchased and opened, the cookies and meals prepared and mostly eaten.. and finally, just last night, we had a moment to light the fire, to put on some Christmas music, to lower lights and light the candles - to be still and to let Christmas truly come.  I recommend it.  Celebrating holidays, as you know, can be exhausting.. and it can lead one to wonder – why are we doing all of this dashing around? And perhaps, more to the point, what difference does it all make – what difference can  Christmas make this year?

As I pondered that question – this passage from our gospel reading came to mind – But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…

I want to warn you that this may be two sermons in one – so please stay with me. It should come together at the end.

What can it mean to become a child of God? 

Here is a story that speaks to this question most beautifully.

It comes from the Rev. Fred Craddock – minister, preacher and seminary professor- now with the Lord - and is recorded in his book The Craft of Preaching.   He tells about a trip he made with his wife, Nettie, when something remarkable happened...

[They] were vacationing in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, eating hamburgers in a restaurant. An old guy comes up to them and asks them who they are, what Fred does for a living, how long they plan to be there, etc., all making Fred antsy. Then, after finding out that Fred [was] a preacher, the man says he has a story to tell. Fred asks him to sit down with them. And the man tells his story.

 He told them that he was born in these mountains to a single woman. [Early 20th century] In those days that meant shame, a lot of shame. Boys at school had names for him. They guessed at who his father was and knew who his mother was, and they made his life hell. He ate his lunch at school alone every day.

He started going to a little church in Laurel Springs pastored by a large, bearded, craggy, big-voiced preacher, who scared the boy but drew him as well. The boy would go just for the sermon and then sneak out before anybody could corner him and say, “’What’s a boy like you doing in church?’” But one Sunday he couldn’t get out in time. The aisle was blocked by church members. And he was scared, because at the end of the aisle was the preacher. Then came the confrontation: the preacher looked at him and said, “’Well, boy, you are whose child?  ’” And the boy flinched. What would be next? ‘Whose child . . .’ was his whole nightmare. But then the gruff, rough, preacher paused and said “’Boy, you are a child; you are a child of God. I see a striking resemblance.’” 

The preacher “swatted the boy on the bottom and said, ‘go, claim your inheritance.’”

“[The old man] said ‘I was born that day.’ [Fred] said to the old man, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Ben Hooper.’ And then he left. [Fred said to himself] Ben Hooper? Ben Hooper? [That name rings a bell.]

“Oh, yes. I remembered my father telling me about how the people of Tennessee twice elected a governor named Ben Hooper who had been born to an unmarried mother.” Fred writes, “Ben Hooper had told me a story. No, Ben Hooper had told me the story.” 

YOU are a child a God – beloved – because of Jesus and how through him – his birth, his life, his death and the power of his resurrection – you have the power of being a child of God.

Hear this today - Whatever happens to you in this life, if anybody tries to run you down and make you feel less than – whatever befalls you - Remind yourself – I am a child of God…  (pause a moment and repeat that to yourself)    Now, that is something can make a difference this Christmas for you – 

And the preacher also said to the boy – go claim your inheritance – We could spend a lot of time on this – on what our inheritance is as a child of God – but I want to back up in our gospel and point to just one thing – 

John says of Jesus Christ that what has come into being  in him is LIFE and the life is the light of the world.. and that light shines (the verb gives the sense of continuously shining) and the darkness does not overcome it – then, now and forever.

So, when we belong to Jesus as members of his family, that light surrounds us, dwells in us and leads us…what an inheritance!

Three thoughts about the Light of Christ which has come to us..our inheritance

That light can lead us in times of confusion where it’s hard to see the way forward –no one puts this more beautifully than Cardinal John Newman  who wrote in the first verse of a poem – the title is the same as the first line…

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom

Lead thou me on

The night is dark, and I am far from home

Lead thou me on

Keep thou my feet, I do not ask to see

The distant scene, one step enough for me

The kindly light of Christ can lead us through whatever darkness surrounds us  (and there is plenty of it today).  This is part of our inheritance as Children of God.

The light of Christ leads and also can reveal the truth of a situation or can give us insight or wisdom – Have you had this kind of experience?  You get an intuition or a hunch or a whisper of the spirit about a situation – not something that would ordinarily be seen or known… that  is also part of our inheritance as Children of God..

And, finally John tells us that what has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people –

The light of Christ which can live in us – is life itself.. eternal life, resurrection life – and what an inheritance that is..

So, beloved of St. Mark’s, something that can really make a difference this Christmas is for you to get it down into your bones that you are a beloved Child of God with a present inheritance of nothing less than the Light of Christ…

I want to invite you into a moment of silence and then I’ll offer a prayer…

Let us pray

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word.  Grant that this light , enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reign with you, in the unity of the Holy Sprit. One God now and forever.  AMEN.