John 1: ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and^[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Dear Jesus, You reveal to us your Father’s presence. Though it is impossible for us to see Him or to know Him apart from you revealing Him to us, we rest upon the promise that you have made your Father known to us. Allow us to celebrate with joy our adoption into your family, made possible by your coming to us that first Advent so long ago. Amen.

In this post-modern world in which we live our “isms” drive us to a place where truth is a matter of personal preference, as we choose from the best options Western culture has to offer. Capitalism, Patriotism, Protestantism, Humanism and the like, all lead us toward a philosophy of truth which turns out to contain no Real Truth claims at all, at least in terms of a classic definition of Truth as “that which is real”. Truth, we say and teach, must be re-defined by words and phrases that those around us can easily adopt and cuddle. Respect is earned, truth is privatized, and love is felt. Honor is desired, Holiness is sought after, and Happiness is owed. Privilege is constitutional, prosperity is the American Way, and penalties are deserved. When it comes to you, justice is deserved. When it comes to me, mercy is expected. And when it comes to life, Truth is ignored. Is it really so difficult to understand and acknowledge that without grace, unmerited and undeserved favor, that the world in which we live would simply be a very real version of hell on earth? Is it really so difficult to embrace the idea that Christ’s love is the only hope within a world where people fail daily, government transgresses powerfully, and the systems of our world fall so far short in delivering on the meaning and purpose and happiness they promise to us all?

There is another way the world “charis” is used in the New Testament. In Romans 12, Paul discusses the life of the Body (1 Corinthians 12 as well). He says that the way of mercy, the way of grace, is to understand that life is to be lived in community, as we begin to offer our “bodies” as a single Living Sacrifice to God. He encourages us to stop conforming (which in our world would be the postmodern synthesis we are tempted to absorb), but to be transformed instead. The interesting thing about “transformation” is that the verb is passive, which means it is something which happens to us, not something we create. Remember, a corpse cannot bring itself to life. A corpse can conform, eventually becoming the ground and dirt which fills the highways of life. But a corpse cannot transform, become something which it is not or something beyond the ashes it was taken from. Life must come from somewhere else. Transformation must come from beyond. Transformation is done to us, not by us.
 

Jesus is the bodily representation of the Father. John makes this clear in his gospel. For us this means that the birth of Jesus changes the place we occupy in the world as the children of God. In the days before Incarnation God remained somewhat of a mystery, for “no one had seen God.” Now all this has changed, for “the one and only Son…..has made Him known.” As we enter into relationship with the Father through the birth, life, death and Resurrection of Jesus, we are brought into the Family of God, united in Christ through the Spirit of God, so that true transformation might begin. This is a bodily function, first and foremost through the Body of Jesus (beginning with The Incarnation), and secondly taking place in the Body of Christ (beginning with Pentecost and the birth of the Church). Jesus makes The Father known to us, and The Word in human form is the vehicle of Revelation. Jesus graciously makes the Father known to us, as the Father graciously gives us the Son as His gift to us, while the Spirit brings us into the loving relationship which existed from eternity past within the everlasting relationship of the Father and the Son. As Jesus is at the Father’s side, so are we. As Jesus sees the Father’s face, so do we. As Jesus ushers into our world the Glory of the Father, so do we. As Jesus extends love and mercy in the Father’s name, so do we. The Body of Jesus as a babe in a cave grows into a man, a Resurrected Man, and eventually the grace-filled Body of Christ in the world. Glory to God for the coming of the Christ Child!!