John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Have you ever looked at the night sky and just stared in complete awe? I still can’t get over the sheer number of stars, how bright they are, how they form different shapes. I can remember looking up into the night sky on one Christmas Eve when I was little. I thought I saw the Christmas Star, you know, the one the wise men saw. I just stood there watching. Today, we have something else to marvel at, a little baby born in Bethlehem…and so much more. I didn’t really see the Star of David, but you can be sure that the birth of Jesus is not a hallucination. Oh no! Today, we will marvel at a true miracle: The Word Became Flesh! I) to live in the world II) to reveal his glory.

Babies are born everyday; that’s not unusual. What makes this birth so special is the person being born. The Word became flesh. "The Word" is a title for Jesus before his birth. In the first few verses of his book John described the Word for us. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." In the beginning – God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning - was the Word. The Word, the second person of the Trinity, existed before creation. In fact, verse three tells us, "all things were made through him." God spoke the Word, and it was done. The Word existed before the birth in Bethlehem. "The Word was God." This is the miracle of Christmas.

This one, who was with God and who was God himself, the Word…became flesh. God became flesh. No wonder the shepherds quaked at the sight. The Word became flesh. This does not mean that the Word stopped being God. No, no. This is not a transformation. The Word did not change from God into flesh. The Word is God.

Yet, while the Word remained God, he became flesh. God himself became fully human. He was born of a woman. He had a head, a torso, arms and legs. He had skin and bones. Blood circulated from his heart to different parts of his body through his veins.

While the Word lived in the world as flesh, he endured the same problems that we face every day. He got hungry and thirsty. He needed to sleep. Jesus used the bathroom, cut his nails, and trimmed his beard. God became one of us. He came into the world and lived as one of us in order to be with us.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." God had lived among his people in the past. In the Old Testament God made himself visibly present among Israel a number of times. He led the Israelites out of Egypt leading them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. As the Israelites wandered through the wilderness living in tents, God also lived in a tent, the Tabernacle. He dwelt behind the curtain with the Ark of the Covenant. Later Solomon would build the Temple as a more permanent place for God to live.

Jesus declared that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. He was the new temple, the new living place of God. God no longer lived among us in a building; he lived among us in the flesh. Of course, his stay on earth was temporary. Jesus lived only 33 years on this earth. Yet, because he lived with us temporarily, we will live with him eternally.

The Word did not come to live in the world just to give us another holiday, a time for presents and trees and parties. He came with a far greater purpose, to earn our salvation. In a short 33 years Jesus did what we could never do. From our own births we all live according to our sinful desires. We must be taught to share; though we still want to keep our Christmas presents to ourselves. We must be taught to say thank you; how often don’t we forget to thank God for his gifts to us. God came into this world as a baby to live in our place. As he lived among us, Jesus never once put himself before others. He always gave thanks and glory to God. He also shared all he had with us, his own life. As God in the flesh, the Word made his dwelling among us for a short time so that we might dwell with him eternally.

What a miracle! The Word became flesh. Sometimes we don’t realize how awesome something is until we step back and look at what has happened. Every year we hear the story of baby Jesus being born in a stable, laid in a manger, praised by the angels, and visited by the shepherds. We know the story so well we can easily look right past its wonder. Step back for a moment. Look at the little baby. Forget the stable, the animals, even the parents. See just the baby. He is both God and man. He is the Word become flesh. Awesome.

Now, watch and the Word will reveal his glory.

You are not the first ones to see the significance of this child. John wrote, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." When Jesus lived in the world, many saw him with their very own eyes. For the moment we can only see Jesus in our minds. John and the other apostles actually saw him in person. When they looked at Jesus, they saw his glory.

He revealed his glory in power. In today’s epistle reading the author to the Hebrews said, "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." The disciples saw Jesus reflect the glory of God through many miracles. Jesus cleansed leprosy, gave sight, and even raised the dead. His miracles prove that he is the Son of God; they reflect the glory of God.

The Word also revealed his glory in love. During his time on earth he showed love and compassion to all, especially his disciples. Although the disciples saw the glory of God with their own eyes, they did not see the miracle before them. They did not step back and see the big picture. Instead, they argued over who was the greatest. Two asked to sit at Jesus’ right hand. They all wanted to know when Jesus would establish his kingdom.

In love, Jesus patiently taught his disciples as he revealed his glory to them. He had not come to be served but to serve. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples to be an example of service. And he set the highest example of service when he sacrificed his own life. They still didn’t understand. In love, Jesus appeared to them after he rose from the dead. He showed them his flesh. He ate in front of them. Thomas touched him. Finally they believed. After the disciples saw the Word in the flesh, then they believed. Then these eyewitnesses wrote down what they saw with their own eyes so that we too might see the glory of the Word and believe.

Like the disciples we can look at Jesus and miss the point. But, he has revealed his glory to give us faith, to know who he really is. "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." There is no one like Jesus; he is the One and Only. Every child is special in his own way, but this child is like no other. He is both God and Man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, Son of God and Son of Man.

As the one who came from the Father, the Word revealed the glory of the Father. He was evidence of the Father’s love for us. At this time of year we show our love to one another by giving each other gifts. What gift could show more love than a father’s own son. The more unique a gift is, the more we treasure it. What gift could be more unique than the One and Only.

The One and Only was also full of grace and truth. We like to tell kids that they will receive gifts if they’re good. In reality, none of us is good, and God knows it. He knows when we’re complaining, he knows when we’re indulging. Yet he loves us for his Son’s sake. Although we don’t deserve any good gift, Jesus gives us himself as the most precious gift ever. He brings truth to all of God’s promises because he is the promise.

The disciples knew the promises of God. They saw the promise of a Savior fulfilled before their very eyes. The Word became flesh and lived among them. They saw his glory. After Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to them, they finally understood what they saw.

We can understand how the disciples didn’t immediately realize what they saw. Sometimes it is very difficult to understand the significance of what you see. They saw a man who could do spectacular miracles. They had no choice but to believe the miracles; they happened before their very eyes. As for the man, however, they let their minds make him what they wanted him to be, an earthly ruler. We see a baby. His parents are poor. He was born in a stable. He looks like an ordinary baby.

Then we hear the testimony of those who have seen firsthand the glory of this baby. They tell us about the miracles he performed. They tell us about the love he displayed. They tell us about the sacrifice he made. Then we hear the testimony of those who saw him after he rose from the dead. They saw him eat fish; they touched him. They saw him return to heaven. They heard him promise to return.

Can we believe this testimony? Can we be sure that this little baby is more than meets the eye? Oh, yes! The Word still lives among us, in our hearts, and we have seen his glory. The night sky is only one marvel that we can stare at. We can also stare at the glory revealed to us in the baby lying in a manger. It is not a hallucination. It is a miracle. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory," and we shall see it again in heaven.