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Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Services

Just in Time

Abingdon Press

First Sunday of Advent

Jesus: The Unlikely Image of God

Question: What picture comes to mind when you think of God?

A Thought: Not humankind, but Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God.

Scripture:Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Colossians 1:15-17

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Call to Worship

One Voice: And God said, "Let us make humankind in our image."

All Voices: We come to worship our Creator.

One Voice: And God created humankind in the image of God, all humankind.

All Voices: So we gather with brothers and with sisters, these here and those beyond this space.

One Voice: And when that image of God was broken

All Voices: God came in full visibility, to show and to restore that perfect image.

One Voice: God came in Jesus Christ.

All Voices: God came in Jesus Christ.

One Voice: Born to set the people free!

All Voices: Amen! Amen! Amen!

Pastoral Prayer

O God, who has come and yet comes again, we are grateful for the ways in which you break into our lives. You bring the possibilities of joy in the midst of our despair. You offer the gift of community in the midst of our lonely places. You show us what tomorrow is meant to be in the midst of our complacency.

You have made us in your image, but we confess that what we see in the mirror of our lives does not look much like you, like your love, like your justice, like your peace. You live in the unbroken Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and we tarry in relationships that are shattered, neighbor divided against neighbor, nations torn from one another, and even sharp words we exchange with those closest to us.

In this season of looking at the birth of your Son, bring new birth into our hearts. Forgive the shadows we have put in front of your light and let the winds of your Spirit blow away the clouds that block others from seeing you in our lives.

(Here the one leading the prayer may include confessions, petitions, intercessions, and thanksgivings appropriate to the community.)

Hear the prayer we offer in the name and spirit of the One who shows you perfectly, even Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, "Our Father ..."

Some Ingredients to Stir into the Sermon Pot

Just John and Jane

If you were going to write a story that told the truth about all of humankind, what would you name the main characters? What names would you choose to represent all of us? When writing in North American English, persons will often use "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" to stand for the average, ordinary citizen. A politician who is considering a policy change might ask: "What would John and Jane Doe think about this? How will this new policy affect Jane Doe and John Doe?"

The writer of the first chapter of Genesis was inspired to name the pivotal characters of the account in such a way that readers would know that this story is indeed the story of John and Jane Doe. It is the story of all of us.

We know these central figures as Adam and Eve. The name Adam means human being. The name Eve means life giver. That's a pretty good clue that the creation account in Genesis is about you and me! In fact, ha'adham (recognize "Adam" in that Hebrew word?) is usually translated simply "humankind" or "man," no doubt a teasing way of remembering that God created us out of dust (Genesis 2:7). The Hebrew word for "dust of the earth, clay" is ha'adhamah. (Okay. Maybe it was funnier in ancient times to compare ha'adham and ha'adhamah. While this humor is not exactly a thigh slapper, it does keep us from getting concerned about Adam's shoe size and favorite color. This is not just the story of one person; it is the story of all persons!)

Eve gets named "Eve" (Genesis 3:20) because she is "the mother of all living." That's what the name means. Now, the writer of these verses has gone to meddling! I had a little wiggle room until now. As long as I can remain convinced that Eve was back then and I am now, then I can nudge her story into a kind of antique irrelevance. But, good grief, the scripture has sneaked up and captured me. If Adam is "humankind" and Eve is "the mother of all living," where can I go to hide from this story? It is clearly my story. And it is clearly your story. This ups the ante a little bit! So, what is our story? I might ask: "What do I learn about me from the story of Adam and Eve?"

I have two sisters. I was born in James Walker Memorial Hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina. I graduated from Siler City High School. I ran track when I was in college. Twice I have been an organizing pastor for new congregations. Toni and I (married for fifty years) have one son, one daughter-in-law, and three grandsons. We live out in the country surrounded by hardwood trees and venturesome deer. What else would you like to know?

Oops! You have caught me stalling, not quite ready to face the truth about me that shows up in the Genesis account. (I don't usually put "tell me the truth" on my hints for Christmas gifts.) Let's start at the beginning.

You and I are part of God's created order. The earth, the environment, the waters, the vegetation, the animals, light, dark—these are all gifts of God's creative initiative. Although my stomach is not fully convinced that God created asparagus, the biblical witness is that what God created was good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). There was a whole lot of good going on! (The word translated as good means suited to its purpose.) So far, so good.

Maybe God should have stopped at that. Have you ever watched a football team successfully run a particular play, time after time? "Braxton fades back to pass; Riley is free again down that right sideline. And Braxton hits him in full stride! Another first down! That play has been working all day." But one time too many and on the next try: "Interception! Interception!" And what has been money in the bank has become a painful withdrawal. Going to the well too many times can mean a dry well.

Maybe God should have stopped at the creating business before he came to us! Perhaps like the man who said "I must have money in the bank because I still have blank checks," God looks at the earth he has created and says, "I still have more I can do." Should God have gone that next step? What would God's creation of beauty and purpose have been like if humankind had not been created?

James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) described what God did next:

And God stepped out on space,
And He looked around and said,
"I'm lonely—
I'll make me a world."

And far as the eye of God could see
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,
And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said, "That's good!"

Then God reached out and took the light in His hands,
And God rolled the light around in His hands
Until He made the sun;
And He set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness,
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.
Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
And God said, "That's good!"

Then God himself stepped down—
And the sun was on His right hand,
And the moon was on His left;
The stars were clustered about His head,
And the earth was under His feet.
And God walked, and where he trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.

Then He stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren.
So God stepped over to the edge of the world
And He spat out the seven seas;
He batted His eyes, and the lightnings flashed;
He clapped His hands, and the thunders rolled;
And the waters above the earth came down,
The cooling waters came down.

Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms,
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around His shoulder.

Then God raised His arm and He waved His hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And he said, "Bring forth! Bring forth!"
And quicker than God could drop His hand,
Fishes and fowls
And beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said, "That's good!"

Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that He had made.
He looked at His sun,
And He looked at His moon,
And He looked at His little stars;
He looked at His world
With all its living things,
And God said, "I'm lonely still."

Then God sat down
On the side of a hill where He could think;
By a deep, wide river He sat down;
With His head in His hands,
God thought and thought,
Till he thought, "I'll make me a man!"

Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled Him down;
And there the great God Almighty
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of His hand;
This Great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till He shaped it in His own image;

Then into it He blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.
Amen. Amen.

("The Creation," from The Book of American Negro Poetry, ed. James Weldon Johnson [New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1922])

What James Weldon Johnson has done (in language and image that reflect his time and experience) is describe how God came to create us in the very image of God. Johnson had the same limits that restrict any of us: the boundaries of human language in depicting the divine, the borders of human relationships in labeling God's inclusiveness, the confines of human understanding in exploring the mysteries of God. No wonder we still marvel that God crashed through these restrictions and put on human flesh! Christmas is about God's overcoming these very separations.

Perhaps I prefer contemporary illustration and language that clearly include us all (using the term "human being" instead of "man," for example), but this poignant poem by James Weldon Johnson puts the matter squarely before us: What does it mean for us to be created in the image of God? This is, after all, our story.

Try it this way: KCB, RHM, LVJ, GLJ, WBF, MME, AWG, CPM, JSB. This makes perfectly good sense to me. (Go ahead and think it; my friends have been thinking it for years!) Those initials (not in the order of this list) are ones I use as shorthand for three bishops, my college roommate, my pastor, a grandson, a classical composer, my wife, and a longtime friend. These are quick and easy ways for me to make a note about one of these persons. (Note to Bishop Edwards: I am still holding your middle name in confidence.) But there is a good chance that for you these initials are so much gibberish.

The phrase "image of God" is not unlike these initials, sounding like so much theological gibberish; it is a shorthand way of speaking of an immensely complex and transforming relationship. "Image of God" is the term God has used to reveal God's bond with us. "Image of God" is a multi-faceted jewel; what we see is dependent on which side the sun is hitting. (Or, as we shall see later, depending on which side the Son is hitting.)

Students of the Bible (and others who like to stay awake at night worrying about these things) do not agree on the meaning of the biblical phrase "image of God." Some prefer to think of "image" as representation; some see the word meaning "resemblance" or "likeness." A few folks have figured that "image" is a parallel to the ancient practice of putting depictions of the king or queen all over the region to stand in for royal power.

No matter which of these side trips give you the best view, it is apparent that humankind's being created in the image of God marks a distinctive relationship between God and humans. The doctrine of the Trinity (another subject for another day) teaches that God lives as a community of three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If God lives in community, we who are created in God's image are also intended for community. What is the nature of that community?

The text (Genesis 1:26) admits of no exception to humanity's creation in the image of God. (Sometimes you will find people speaking of imago dei—ee-MAH-go DAY-ee—which is simply the classic Latin translation of "image of God.") Each of us is on equal footing in terms of God's image. That is a radical social concept. Can you not think of a few folks who seem to have been hiding behind the door when "image of God" was passed out? Such a list might range from notorious public figures to a second-cousin-twice-removed by marriage (but not removed far enough!) or the high-scoring center on a despised rival basketball team. But such a list would be faulty.

In Genesis 1:27, the point is made and then repeated (in one form of Hebrew poetry) that God has fashioned all human beings in the image: "God created humankind in his image" (that's once); "in the image of God he created them" (that's twice). Then, for good measure, the poet-writer adds, "Male and female he created them." That's three times in one short verse: all of humanity is formed in the image of God.

So, the first point is that the community for which we are created is inclusive, even of Aunt Ellen's second cousin who ended up in jail on various nefarious charges. (Please excuse me, but I have always wanted to write "various nefarious" as back-to-back words.)

The scripture reveals three characteristics of this inclusive community, three handles for picking up the nature of the relationships in this community: (a) a relationship with God, (b) a relationship with one another, and (c) a relationship with the created order.

What about our relationship with God? As the Scriptures unfold the story of creation, God makes impersonal pronouncements ("Let there be ..."), but when it comes to the creation of human beings, God shifts into a more personal mode: "Let us make humankind ..." It is the difference between hearing someone say, "People love people" and hearing that person say to you, "I love you." Christmas kicks it up a notch: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16a). It's like first getting a Christmas card from a loved one and then having that person show up to give you a hug in person. Christmas is about God's showing up in person—as one of us, as a human being—in order to keep alive a relationship with us. Created in the image of God, we are intended for communion with God.

What about our relationship with one another? Genesis 2:18 puts a lens on God's intent for human connection: not good to be alone—needs helper—needs partner. In other words, each of us is incomplete without the other. To paraphrase John Donne (1572– 1631): "No one is an island, entire of itself; every one is a piece of the continent" ("Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions," Meditation XVII). As a friend of mine says when she is faced with a sudden new truth: "Merciful goose grease!" This interrelatedness of humankind is soundly countercultural. Our twenty-first-century values honor individualism. How often do I walk around with an MP3 player or a cell phone closing out all worlds but the one I choose, all worlds but my own? Just how many kinds of cereals must be offered at the supermarket so I can find "mine," and how many variations of coffee must be available for me to feel I have been respected? Merciful goose grease! Is it possibly true that it is not all about me? Created in the image of God, we are intended for communion with one another.

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Excerpted from Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Services by F. Belton Joyner Jr.. Copyright © 2010 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
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