And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

We are just a few days from celebrating Christmas. In our churches we will joyfully read the well-known account from Luke’s gospel. We will remember the star and the proclamation of angels “peace on earth among those whom he favors!” (Luke 2:14)

As meaningful as those words are, and affirming the positive emotions they invoke, I want to suggest that the words from the Prologue to the Gospel of John (1:1-18) need to be read, alongside the narratives found in Matthew and Luke.

For the Gospel of John, the beginning is outside the normal calculations of time, in the cosmic pre-existence of the Word with God. John’s gospel focuses the reader’s attention on the meaning of what follows—the Gospel story is about the very character of God. In the life and death of the Word we see the essence of God.

In defining “Word,” (Gr. logos), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance uses the phrase Divine Expression. That is a powerful, life-changing statement. Genesis describes God as speaking creation into existence, John opens with the same phrase, “in the beginning.” John’s Gospel addresses the preexistent nature of the Son, and the Divine Expression is the very word of God becoming a human being.

John declares, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (John 1:18) It is the Divine Expression, made flesh in the Son who shows us the heart of God.

The Divine Expression is creative. John writes that all things came into being through the Word. “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (1:4-5)

The Divine Expression assures those who accept the message of life and light that they are the children of God. This is the Word of salvation. The light of God has come into the world to forgive, heal, redeem, and give eternal life to all who place their faith in the Word, that is Jesus the Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth is the Divine Expression. In Jesus we hear the words of God and witness the miracles of healing and restoration that define the heart of God. The law came through Moses, grace and truth came through the Divine Expression of God’s word becoming a human being.

Christmas is not about trees, carols, or Santa Claus. Christmas is an opportunity to remember the Divine Expression of God’s word becoming flesh and blood. The Divine Expression is known in the way we treat one another. The Divine Expression is seen in acts of grace and charity. There is a great deal of lip service in our world, a lot of talk about Christianity, but precious little of the Divine Expression in the way we treat our neighbors.

In describing judgement, Jesus, the Divine Expression, says that the separation of sheep and goats is based not on profession alone, but profession lived out in action to, “the least of these” (see Matthew 25:31-46). It is not enough to say we have faith. The Divine Expression demands that faith have hands, feet, voices, compassion, and love.

The word gospel (Gr. euaggelion) means a good message, i.e. good news. The good news is not limited to one season. The good news is that the Divine Expression discarded the trappings of divinity and assumed the frailty of human flesh. In this act of loving obedience, we get a glimpse of the heart of God.

Having glimpsed in Jesus, the heart of God we are challenged to repent of selfishness, bigotry, hatred, racism, misogyny, and all forms of prejudice. We need to repent of the vulgar language that permeates our public and political discourse, demeaning our sisters and brothers who may have a different skin color, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. The Divine Expression went to the cross for everyone.