"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

The idea is so mind-boggling... what does it even mean?

I spent a lot of my thoughts on this idea in the days leading up to Christmas this year, trying to comprehend what John was trying to tell us (John 1:14), how it worked, and why it was significant. I wanted to blog about the idea before Christmas day, but it's just so inconceivable that even now, 5 days after Christmas, I'm still stumped. By no means have I mastered the concept at all (nor do I think that it is possible)... but I'm deciding to share the thoughts I do have so far.

Usually, when I think about the real reason for Christmas (“the reason for the season”), I think back to the gospel narratives of Christ’s birth; I think about Mary and Joseph, the angels, shepherds, magi, the star, the inn, the manger… I always like to read the beginning chapters of Matthew and Luke in the few days leading up to Christmas just to recall the story and to get focused on the purpose for our celebration.

But this year, I overheard a few friends saying that they were planning to read the first chapter of John to prepare for this Christmas season. And I thought they were Bible readers! I was tempted to jump into their conversation and remind them that John does not tell the nativity story when I realized what the first chapter of John is all about - the word becoming flesh. The more I thought about it, the more I realized my friends might be on to something. Christmas is all about the birth of Christ – who was God (the Word) in man (flesh) (or baby at the time). It’s a baffling idea, really, that John captures well. (Ok, so maybe my friends do know what they’re talking about after all…)

When I think of the word “word,” I think of something spoken, something I can’t touch or see. In John’s gospel, the “Word” is referred to as the Logos – divine reason, logic, Truth, etc. Both implications of “Word” suggest that it is intangible, impersonal (in that you can’t have a relationship with it), and immaterial (without matter). In the gospel of John, “The Word” is God – intangible, indescribable, timeless, and beyond human perception.

And yet, “the Word became flesh…”

Flesh - “Substance as distinct from form or style; the physical body along with its needs and limitations (as opposed to the soul, mind, or spirit); the outer surface of the human body; the soft pulpy edible parts of fruits and vegetables as opposed to other parts that are not usually eaten…” (Encarta Dictionary)

That immaterial, ineffable, uncontainable Word became something with substance – it became material, physical, tangible… something we could relate to. The Word actually became a person – somebody we could touch, see, hear, smell, and even taste (bread and wine) just like the “edible parts of fruits…”! Before that (before Jesus was born) it (the Word) was something too far above human reason to ever possibly imagine, much less to know personally. Yet, on Christmas day, God came down to earth in human flesh; in the most amazing, saving, and vital act in the history of the world, God Infinite became man finite in the form of a weak, poor, little baby. He didn’t come in claps of thunder or bolts of lightning, but defied all expectations in His coming, emptying out His dignity as Sovereign Ruler/Creator and becoming an infant, too powerless to even feed Himself. He became one of us precisely so that we humans might possibly know Him personally – because of this act, man could once again see the perfect and unblemished image of God. Furthermore, becoming man allowed Him the capacity to die (since God is eternal and cannot die), which allowed Him to abolish our sin and corruption forever through His death; it allowed Him to pay our infinite debt and thus to have an opportunity to enter His Heaven and to delight in Him eternally.

Jesus’ birth was life-changing – for Him and for mankind. Christmas is an opportunity to recognize that we have a chance to know our Creator personally and an invitation to dine with the King. Because the Word became flesh, sin was ultimately and absolutely destroyed thus enabling mankind to enter God’s kingdom through forgiveness of sins and a personal relationship. That is why we must celebrate His birth… with the biggest holiday of the year.