Translated by Bruce E. Shields<\/p>\n
A sermon on the text for Christmas, John 1:14: \u0093The Word
\nbecame flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory.\u0094<\/p>\n
Dear Congregation,<\/p>\n
one lesson that we humans learn quickly is to mistrust just words.
\nChildren learn quickly that their parents can\u0092t always keep their
\npromises. Parents learn quickly that the good intentions of their children can
\nburst like soap bubbles when they are excited or angry. We have learned to
\nmistrust spoken words\u0097whether it be of the presidential candidate\u0092s
\nelection promises or the security assurances of the nuclear and chemical
\nindustry, be it the golden words of the advertisers or the testimony of the
\neffectiveness of pills for weight loss, headache, or the problems of aging.
\nYes, we read even newspaper articles with a certain amount of healthy
\nskepticism\u0097as we have learned through experience, and rightly so.<\/p>\n
We ourselves are not exactly the most trustworthy doers of our own
\nwords. We know well how often we say something, how often we claim good things
\nabout ourselves, and do the opposite. Trustworthiness is hard to attain.
\nSeveral bitter sayings of our time show, my friends, that trust in a
\nperson\u0092s word or the power of words among us has dwindled: \u0093Your
\nmouth to God\u0092s ear,\u0094 we hear people say when someone speaks of an
\nimportant expectation; or \u0093Actions speak louder than words,\u0094 or even
\n\u0093Put your money where your mouth is.\u0094 Even books carry such
\ntitles\u0097and between the lines we read the common understanding that words
\nhave no worth unless they are accompanied by deeds.<\/p>\n
How could the spoken word have lost its worth? Can\u0092t words
\nalso give comfort and courage? Can\u0092t words also praise and encourage? How
\nelse could we read and learn, sing and preach, teach and discuss, get
\nacquainted and love? Our world would go begging without words. We humans would
\nbe completely helpless if we had no language and if our newspapers and books
\ncontained only blank pages. It was not always so\u0097that speech had lost its
\nworth because of so many broken promises and the common experience of lies.<\/p>\n
The Old Testament shows a totally different picture of the power
\nand worth of words. Once the word was God\u0092s companion when God created the
\nworld. It was by means of the word that God created light, and through the word
\nGod separated the water from the land. The word called Adam to life and set the
\nboundaries between the permitted and the forbidden.<\/p>\n
The will of God\u0097formed in words and written on stone
\ntablets\u0097was the most precious possession of Israel as they made Canaan
\ninto their new homeland and built the temple in Jerusalem. The words of the law
\nbecame for Israel the holy object in the Holy of Holies, the very dwelling
\nplace of God. But then the power of the words decreased because people
\ndidn\u0092t believe in them any more. The voices of the prophets were silenced
\nbecause people didn\u0092t believe them any more. The word of humans became
\nempty and of no account. Yes, even Jesus made it clear to people: \u0093You
\ntalk too much. Stop your vain repetition, like the pagans; and don\u0092t call,
\n\u0091Lord, Lord,\u0092 without meaning it. You should act! You should do the
\nwill of my Father in heaven, do not just talk about it. Then you\u0092ll be on
\nthe right track.\u0094<\/p>\n
Was Goethe right when he began his \u0093Faust\u0094 with a new
\nversion of the prologue to John\u0092s gospel: not \u0093In the beginning was
\nthe word,\u0094 but rather, \u0093In the beginning was the deed.\u0094? Or as
\nhe wrote later in \u0093The Education of Wilhelm Meister\u0094: \u0093Words are
\ngood; they are, however, not the best. The best is not made clear by words. The
\nspirit from which we act is the highest.\u0094<\/p>\n
Yes, if you will, God has only now fully understood his human
\nchildren. They can\u0092t really be helped with words alone. No command, no
\nrestriction, no punishment on this earth can convince a person that he or she
\nis on the wrong path when far from God. No command, no restriction, no
\npunishment on this earth can convince a person that God loves him or her, if
\nthere is no deed to do the convincing; if there is no new spirit that urges him
\nor her. Nothing else, beloved, is the meaning of God\u0092s becoming human.
\nNothing else is the meaning of Christmas: the time of the words is fulfilled.
\nThe time of the law is fulfilled. God causes deeds to follow his words that
\nthat we humans can understand him\u0097deeds in Jesus Christ. We read it
\nclearly in Galatians, where it says, \u0093But when the fullness of time had
\ncome, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem
\nthose under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.\u0094
\n(Galatians 4:4-5)<\/p>\n
Therefore the Bible text that since the beginnings of our church
\nhas shone over the Christmas celebration says, \u0093The word became flesh and
\nlived among us, and we have seen his glory.\u0094 (John 1:14) The word became
\ndeed. And the people Jesus met and experienced were able to sense with their
\nown hearts how thrilling it is to meet God in him. But where are they
\ntoday\u0097these deeds of Jesus? Don\u0092t we have once again just words?
\nWords that just tell us stories of those deeds?<\/p>\n
It\u0092s true: Jesus Christ as the loving one, as the credible
\none, as the Savior of body and soul, was active among us humans. And now he is
\nall of that no more. But he has called people to him\u0097and wherever they
\ncame from, he called them to follow his example. And in every disciple, every
\nfollower, Jesus\u0092 deeds remain\u0097right down to today.<\/p>\n
For example: The Bible says, \u0093God is love.\u0094 There is
\nnobody God doesn\u0092t love, nobody God doesn\u0092t seek, nobody God
\ndoesn\u0092t want to win back. If these are just words, then the love of God
\nwould be just a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. So the word became deed: A
\nperson came among persons\u0097one who sat at table with prostitutes and
\nconvicts, who treated tax collectors as his friends, who described a despised
\nSamaritan as a good example, who protected the adulterous woman from death by
\nstoning. It was glorious for each individual to experience something of him.
\nEven when I was guilty, even when I had so messed up my life that it could not
\nstand before God\u0092s eyes, I remain in God\u0092s eyes worthwhile and worth
\nloving. Even if I have betrayed others or I was unfaithful to my husband, even
\nif I have pursued my own advantage and turned myself away from God and
\nGod\u0092s will, God wants me back. God does not wish me lost. On the contrary,
\nGod brings me back to land of the living.<\/p>\n
The word became deed. And the love of Jesus has changed people,
\nled them to conversion, saved them. Many have done as Jesus did\u0097for
\ncenturies now. Not everybody has been successful; some have overdone it, some
\nhave not found the right way. Many, many, however, have made deeds out of
\nwords.<\/p>\n
And today we are in the line. Is it possible for us to become
\ndoers of the word and not just hearers? If we want to see today how glorious it
\nis, if God is actually present among us, then we\u0092ll not miss it.
\nGod\u0092s words want to become deeds; and we are the ones who can do it.<\/p>\n
Think about the children. They not only want to play with their
\nnew toys these days around the Christmas tree. They would perhaps much rather
\nhear a story or build something with you out of their Lego blocks\u0092 perhaps
\nconversing and playing their new CD for you. Let\u0092s give them what they
\nneed, the gift of our time, and not just talk about it.<\/p>\n
Think about the elderly people who so often sit alone in their
\nrooms. Very few of them hope for presents, because their rooms are full and
\ntheir tables richly spread. They want to talk about the past, to sing the
\nbeautiful, old songs and to feel that they really belong.<\/p>\n
Think about the people we don\u0092t get along with, those we have
\nnot written to and who won\u0092t telephone us in these days. In no other
\nseason is the yearning of people for peace deeper that at Christmas time. It is
\nthe season, then, to extend the hand of reconciliation\u0097at least to offer a
\nhint for a way back to you.<\/p>\n
Think about the hungry, who can\u0092t imagine how rich and
\nfestive our tables are these days.<\/p>\n
Think about the refugees, who have neither home nor future.<\/p>\n
Each of us knows where there are people suffering. And all of us
\nknow exactly how we can help personally, how we can cause words to become
\ndeeds. We could be on the other side one day and discover how glorious it is
\nwhen somebody sees our need and our sadness and lets the word of love become a
\ndeed.<\/p>\n
I believe, dear congregation, that this was the best idea God ever
\nhad: that God not only told us about his love, but that he made it possible for
\nus to sense it through the life and love that Jesus gave us. In this way we
\nhave not only heard about the glory of God\u0092s grace, but we have
\nexperienced it. And that encourages us to help others to experience this glory.<\/p>\n
Therefore, beloved, let us love, because God has first loved us.
\nLet us become real humans beings. God did, too.<\/p>\n
INVITATION TO THE LITURGY\u0097INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n
Don\u0092t look at what you are yourself
\nIn all your guilt and
\nweakness.
\nLook at the one who has come
\nSo that he can speak for you.<\/p>\n
Look at what is happening to you today,
\nToday your Savior has turned to
\nyou,
\nTo bring you home again
\nOn the strong wings of the eagle.<\/p>\n
Don\u0092t look at how poor you are, O sinner,
\nLook rather at your
\nhelper, Jesus Christ\u0097<\/p>\n
(Anonymous)<\/p>\n
Pfarrerin Dorothea Zager, Hauptstr. 22, 67591 Wachenheim \/
\nRhh.
\nTel. 06243 – 905465<\/b><\/p>\n
Translated by Bruce E. Shields
\nEmmanuel School of Religion<\/b><\/p>\n
Johnson City, Tennessee, USA<\/p>\n