Readings John 1:1-14; Ephesians 1:3-14
1. I wonder what sort of Christmas celebrations there would be if we only had the two Gospels instead of 4? I’m thinking of having Mark and John only. It would certainly mean that most if not all of the traditional carols would never have been written – many of the hymns in TIS from 290 to 330 would disappear but we would still be able to sing `Love came down at Christmas` and one or two others which make no mention of angels, shepherds, wise men or a star. It would also mean that a whole industry associated with Christmas as it is now observed would disappear and I am not at all sure how we would mark or celebrate the birth of Jesus. For what we would be left with would be Mark referring to the emergence of John the Baptist, pointing to Jesus who is described after being baptized by John as the beloved Son of God, and John speaking of the Word of God coming to dwell among us `full of grace and truth`.

2. There are probably some people who would gladly see references to angels, shepherds and a Bethlehem stable deleted, perhaps because they don’t believe that those aspects of the Christmas story actually took place, or because they see how they have been so commercialized as to lose their significance. There are others, and probably in a large majority, who would feel that in spite of any doubts or reservations that they might have, Jesus is such an important person that it is entirely reasonable to attach to his birth poetic, mysterious and symbolic events. I am puzzled as to why Matthew and Luke referred to the birth of Jesus in such colourful terms when they both had before them a copy of Mark’s Gospel - perhaps they had access to a variety of traditions which Mark did not have. It is also a puzzle to me as to why no other New Testament author refers to the birth of Jesus in ways similar to that of Matthew and Luke – and again it may well be that the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus were seen to be far more important than the manner of his birth. I really don’t know the answers to those sorts of questions and I can only speculate that as the birth of Jesus came to be seen as being of infinite importance so there were Christians who wanted to attach to that birth all sorts of wonderful events.

3. The lectionary reading for this morning is from the Gospel of John and John is certainly more interested in the pre-birth existence of Jesus than in any events surrounding his human birth – `In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God: all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men`. I don’t think that there can be any doubt that John is here echoing the OT idea that in the work of creation God had a companion called Wisdom – a helper involved with God in bringing into existence God’s great plan for his creation – if you like, the active power of God. The Book of Proverbs is full of references to wisdom `The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens` (3:19). Throughout the Old and New Testaments there are 218 references to wisdom and in the letter to the Corinthians Jesus is described as `Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God` (I Cor. 1:24) I find all of this sort of language very mysterious but have no doubt that what John is trying to present is the person of Jesus as being sent directly by God to reveal the nature of God – to be the `the true light that enlightens everyone`

4. I have just finished reading two books by Michael Morwood – the first one was called `From Sand to Solid Ground` and the second one was `Is Jesus God?` In the end Morwood says that Jesus wasn’t God but speaks of Jesus in such a way that he attributes to Jesus such qualities that the very least that can be said is that Jesus was `godlike`. When he refers to the resurrection of Jesus he puts it in the context of his belief that everyone is resurrected but still says `The life, teaching and resurrection of Jesus led people to convictions about life, death, God and themselves that formed the foundations of a new ‘faith’. People saw in Jesus God made visible . . . the message that God had raised Jesus vindicated everything Jesus had lived and preached` (73) I think that his answer to the question `Is Jesus God?` is really `yes` even though he wants to express his answer in non-traditional terms.

5. I wonder what it would be like if Christmas every became a celebration of wisdom rather than of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus as described by Matthew or Luke? Perhaps the occasion for remembering people whose wisdom had made a contribution to the world community over the previous year – a sort of noble rather than Nobel prize. Maybe the sort of presents that people gave and received would be to increase knowledge rather than to entertain with the emphasis on knowledge about how human life could be preserved, protected and enhanced. There could be family games about who said what, rather than Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly. If you were playing a wisdom game with your family you might be asked:

*WHO SAID: I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding that bringeth peace (Helen Keller)

OR The beginning of wisdom is to be found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question; and by seeking we may come to the truth (Pierre Abelard)

OR I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a Department Store and he asked me for my autograph (Shirley Temple)

OR Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese (Billie Burke)

All of this remains, of course, pure fantasy for Christmas celebrations as we have them now have come to mean a great deal to people for all sorts of reasons - some altruistic, some religious and some commercial.

6. In the meantime, there is so much wisdom that flows from the life and teaching of Jesus that stands in sharp contradiction to the so called wisdom of the world. I’m sure that you don’t really have to be reminded that people and relationships are of far greater importance than possessions; that labels belong on tins and never should be applied to people because they happen to be of a different colour, race, culture, gender or sexual orientation: that harbouring an unforgiving spirit is poisonous to the unforgiving person; that the only way in which our world can become anything like what God wants is through love, compassion and understanding. It is very easy to discover the wisdom that comes from Jesus and in fact a very comprehensive summary is given in the letter of James where the question is asked `Who is wise and understanding among you ?` The answer is given first of all in negative terms with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition being rejected as earthly, unspiritual, devilish and then `..the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace`

The problem that most of us probably have isn’t knowing what is he wisdom of God but actually applying it in our daily life.

I simply finish with a quotation from Charles Dickens: `I will know Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.