“The Word became Flesh,” John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is reason this day to ‘Come All Ye Faithful’.  There is reason this day to come and ‘Let Us Adore Him’.  We proclaim God’s salvation today and day after day because to us—salvation has come—to us salvation is given.

In that lowly manger of time ago lay a child.  There in that manger lay He of whom the angels and we (now) sing, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14) and ‘Glory to the Newborn King’.  The child born of Mary in that ‘Little Town of Bethlehem’, an ‘infant lowly,’ is also God, God in the flesh.

As with all of God’s works, go not by sight. Go according to His Word. If all you would see in Jesus is a child and nothing more, you still do not believe according to the Word of the Lord.  A mere child or man saves no one. Flesh and blood alone cannot make full payment for your sin.  “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6), says the Lord. But Jesus, that child born to that virgin Mary, was not just flesh and blood.  He is also God, God incarnate, God in the flesh, born for you and for me, born to deliver you from sin and death by Himself being nailed to a tree. 

The shepherds watching their flocks by night would not have thought anything of it concerning the baby Jesus, unless the angel had announced to them the Good News, “Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). They would have not known where to find Him, unless the angel had also told them, “This shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

Later, the magi, or wise men, from the east would also not have known the child’s whereabouts, but for the star by which God directed them to the place where Jesus lay, and by the Word given about Bethlehem. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting” (Mic. 5:2 NKJ).

Mary would not have conceived in her womb, for she was truly a virgin and had not been with a man, but to her the angel Gabriel had announced, “You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His Name Jesus” (Luke 1:31).  To this announcement, Mary responded with a “How can this be?” (Luke 1:34). But to her the Angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

As Joseph “was minded to put” Mary “away secretly” (Matthew 1:19) when he learned that she was with Child, “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Whether it be Joseph who was engaged to Mary or the virgin conceiving by the Holy Spirit in her virgin womb and giving birth to a Son, neither were kept in the dark about who Jesus was. The shepherds were not clueless as to the signs by which they would find the child of whom the Angel spoke and of whom the angels sang. The Magi were not lost with reference to the King’s birthplace in Bethlehem. 

The Lord had revealed to the Magi, to the Shepherds before them, to Joseph, and to Mary herself who Jesus was and where He was to be found—through Word and sign.  This was not just any baby.  This was Jesus the Christ, God in the flesh. So also does the Lord God reveal this truth to you, today, where Jesus is, also by means of Word and sign.  Though none of you were there, God’s Word reveals it to be so, that you firmly believe it, though the world and your reason say otherwise. 

Where God’s Word is spoken, where Christ is preached, there God would have you know that Jesus is your Savior, your Savior from all your sin, and that there—He is there—for you.  Through the darkness of the womb He was born.  In the darkness of the tomb was He laid.  Three days later, He burst forth from the darkness of death into the light of life.  In Him—you have life. 

What God has revealed, that the child born of Mary is God in the flesh, He who created the world and was at the beginning with God and was God (John 1:1), so we also believe.  “Salvation unto us has come” – in the very Son of God, Whose birth we celebrate. This confession is also your confession, because God has so made it known through Word and sign to you. That, you believe. God reveals His grace and mercy unto sinners through what is preached, through the preaching of Jesus, who was “born of a woman and born under the law, who came to redeem us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 4:4-5). Through the Word proclaimed, the Lord reveals not only your need for a Savior, but also the Savior who has come, who brings life eternal through His suffering and death.

God saw fit to become man.  God is high and mighty, but for you, because of His great and abundant love for you, He was laid “Away in a Manger.”  He humbled Himself, in order that you be exalted and receive the adoption of Sons (Galatians 4:5), becoming children of the God of heaven, not born of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born of God (John 1:13), born anew in the waters of Holy Baptism. 

God came to you, and God comes to you now, in Word and Bread and Wine, that you believe His Word and believe Him to be your Savior and your help, your refuge and your strength. No longer is Jesus ‘Away in a Manger’ with ‘no crib for a bed’. Once He was, but no more.  Now, He is sitting at the right hand of God the Father.  And yet, through Word and sign, He points you to where to go to receive Him and God’s blessed and undeserved gifts, His Holy Word and Sacrament. God’s Word reveals what is, that you have a Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.  God reveals His grace and blessing through Word and Sign, where He placed His Holy Name upon you through the washing of new birth in Baptism; and where He bids you, ‘Take eat, Take drink.’ 

We call these signs because by these, God directs you to where He says that He will be for you: no longer in the manger, but in His Word; no longer wrapped in swaddling clothes, wrapped in preaching and sacrament. Here, Christ gives you life.  Here, you behold His grace and His favor.  Here, He comes to you lowly, still, for not all believe, but on the last triumphant day, then all will see and all will bow the knee before the Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 1:7; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:9-11).

As the shepherds went and found the child just as it had been told them, so do you.  Christ is right where He promises to be. Seek Him where He is to be found, not in the manger, not on the cross, not in Your heart, but where His Word is preached and where His body and blood are given under bread and wine, for you.  There you can be sure of His grace, and certain of God’s love, for you. 

Plenty of skeptics, naysayers, and others seek their own way, their own peace, and deny or ignore the very truth right in front of them, even as it is revealed to them.  But God does not lie, nor does He mislead. Rejoice, therefore, for Christ your Savior has been born. He has died and is raised from the dead and now sits on the throne of His Father, for you. Jesus is the King of kings. Salvation does He bring.  No longer is He a child, but still is He the Christ, the One of whom the angels sing and unto whom the glorious songs of old still sound forth.  Amen.