Sermon 12/25/19: Lullaby Love Songs (Pr. Michelle Sevig)

Pr. Michelle Sevig

Christmas Day 2019

Lullaby Love Songs

When my kids were babies, I loved the cuddle time right before bed; when we’d read stories and sing lullabies to shhh them to sleep. The only thing is, we didn’t know any lullabies except rock-a-bye baby and that one has terrible lyrics (when the bough breaks the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all? Yuck!)  

So we sang hymns instead. Much better “lyrics” and it felt more like a love song to my children than any other lullaby could ever be. Our favorite was “Thy Holy wings dear savior spread gently over me, and let me rest securely, through good and ill in thee…” Sometimes I simply chanted to them, “It is indeed right our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you…” And during Christmas time there were endless opportunities to sing the greatest hits. But the chants/lullabies are best, “Of the Father’s love begotten, hmmmmm” 

This morning as we hear again the gospel from John, about the light shining in the darkness, and the Word becoming flesh to live among us, I want to take a new approach, with thanks to Bishop Craig Satterlee for the insight. 

He said, “John’s description of Jesus is poetic, even lyrical speech. It’s a response to God’s love song, which is Christ.” We’re so used to the image of Christ as the light shining in the darkness, that it seems to be the only image we use at Christmastime. But let’s try something new this Christmas season. “Jesus is God’s love song, singing life into the world’s babble, chaos and voices of death.”

The gospel writer John proclaims that Jesus is the Word of God become flesh. But when we hear the word “Word” we typically think of the written word, something that’s printed. But logos, in the Greek, means something said. Substitute “speech” for “word” and hear the difference. 

• In the beginning was God’s speech, all things came into being through God’s speaking. 

•   God’s speech became flesh and lived among us.

Jesus is God’s love song from the beginning. God’s very own lullaby, sung into the lives of God’s beloved children throughout the generations. 

Last night in this space we read Luke’s story of Jesus’ birth, when the Word became flesh to live among us, and it was the angels who brought the good news of great joy. I can almost hear them singing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”

In John, though, Jesus has been singing love and bringing life from the beginning. In the beginning God said, Let there be light… and there was. God spoke into being day and night, heaven and earth, plants and animals, and humanity. Jesus is that spoken word. That utterance. God’s Word become flesh. Jesus--God’s eternal speech--the enfleshment of what God says--even sings--to us.

What does God say to us? This is who am! In Jesus we hear that God forgives, embraces outcasts, prays for those who hurt, always brings victory over despair and death.

Christ comes to us not only to tell us who God is, but to give us power to become children of God.

On this most Holy Day, we sing God’s love song of word becoming flesh and living among us, full of grace and truth. Darkness has not overcome him. Other voices have not drowned him out. God’s love song is not silent.

And neither are we. We join with each other and with those throughout the generations in singing our own lullaby, our own lullaby love songs: “Let no tongue on earth be silent, every voice in concert ring. Evermore and evermore.”