Texts: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 145; Galatians 3:23-35, 4:4-7; John 1:1-18
 

The Collect

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 reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.
 

The Gospel

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Pray for me, that the words I speak may be those God wants us to hear.
 

The Homily

When I first learned I was scheduled to preach today, I thought, “Hot Dog!” The Second Day of Christmas….the Feast of St. Stephen! Stephen was one of “the seven” who are traditionally regarded as the first deacons in the church; he is also the church’s first martyr. But then I remembered that Sundays always take precedence over calendar feasts, which are transferred to an unoccupied day in the following week. So if you want to hear about Stephen, Deacon and Martyr, you will have to come to the 12:10 p.m. service next Wednesday, when his feast will be celebrated here, or read about him in the book of Acts, chapters 6 and 7.

On this the second day of Christmas, which is also the First Sunday After Christmas, there are wonderful themes running through the Readings. They are filled with incredible good news!

In our reading from Galatians, St. Paul talks about justification by faith in Jesus, rather than justification by obedience to the law. One of the earliest controversies in the Church was whether or not one had to become a Jew before becoming a Christian. To be a Christian, was it necessary to obey Jewish dietary laws? Was circumcision required? Paul brought the Good News of Jesus to the Gentile world, and such questions were of prime importance. Just how does one come into right relationship with God? Does strict adherence to a particular set of rules make you ‘okay’ with God? If that is so, and the rules can do it all, why did Jesus bother to die on the cross?

The church has moved past whether dietary laws and circumcision are necessary, but the manner in which we live our lives continues to be an important issue among Christians today.

Back when Paul was writing, it was very hard for some Jewish Christians to accept Gentile Christians. Consider what this might be like. Perhaps you have spent your entire life living a particular way because you thought that was what God wanted. You were taught a set of laws and you were expected to follow them. Not following them had the consequence of putting you outside the worshiping community and away from God, so you did your best to be an observant Jew. Then you discover and embrace the Lord, who doesn’t quite look like the messiah you expected, but is somehow much more wonderful. This changes your whole life, but you are still Jewish, still observing the practices that where handed on to you. The acceptance of Jesus as the messiah means the completion and perfection of the way of life you have been trying to live.

Then you see others who embrace the same Lord; they are also filled with the Holy Spirit, and you rejoice; but they are not Jewish, and live their lives in ways you have always shunned. They eat foods you have always considered unclean. They are not people who have accepted God’s law as detailed in the Torah, nor have they entered into the covenant relationship by becoming circumcised. These things have always been very important in your life. How can these people, who live such disgusting lives, possibly be acceptable to God?

Throughout the letter to the Galatians, Paul asserts that justification comes through faith in Jesus, rather than by doing the works of the law. He refers to life under the law as “imprisoned and guarded”. Since Christ came, things have changed, and now justification is by faith in Jesus alone. Depending on any other device, rather than by having faith in Jesus, sends us backwards into the old life of being subject to a disciplinarian, rather than forward into the new life as free children of God… children adopted, not because of any works we do, but because of God’s grace, God’s unmerited favor towards us.

Our reading from the Gospel of John says much the same thing…”…to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” It doesn’t matter what your bloodline is, or who your ancestors or parents might be, or what culture you were born into. It doesn’t matter whether or not you have willpower, whether you are perfect in your religious observances, or in your relations with others. It doesn’t matter if you are talented or inept, graceful or clumsy, or a mixture of both. Whatever situation you were born into, whatever situation you find yourself in now, when you receive Christ and believe in his name, you are given the POWER to become a child of God.

We enter into this relationship with God at baptism. We are born again, as God’s children.

At the end of this passage, we are reminded again of the extravagant love of God. “From his fullness we have ALL received, grace upon grace.”

The creator of the cosmos, the creator of all life, loved us enough to do this.

Where does this leave us with the law? This is a very lively discussion for the modern Church. If we are not following dietary strictures, or other parts of Jewish law that we consider cultural, surely we are meant to follow such laws as the 10 commandments!

The 10 commandments are indeed a good guideline for life. But remember, they do not save us. They help us to live out our lives together, and to understand our duties to God and our neighbor. If you want to read more about this, I refer you to the Catechism sections entitled “The Old Covenant” and “The Ten Commandments”, pages 846-848 in the Book of Common Prayer. Then read “The New Covenant”, page 850-851. In it you will find Jesus’ teaching on the law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as your self”. Also, the New Commandment: we are to love one another as Christ loved us.

Yes, we have the law, given by Moses. Parts of it are very helpful to us as we try to live good lives, especially the 10 commandments. It helps us remember to put God first in our lives, and orders our relationships with others. But the law cannot save us.

Through Jesus, God’s only son, we have been shown something better than the law…the Father’s heart. We are invited to live in a more intimate relationship with God than could ever be forged by laws and observances. We are God’s beloved children…and because we are God’s children, we cry out with the Spirit of God’s Son, “Abba! Father!”…and grow into the wonderful children He made us to be.