Good News for All People – The Word Became Flesh

The sermon begins by emphasizing that the Christmas season is a unique time that brings peace, hope, and joy to all people. However, the angel Gabriel seeks to clarify that the good news is not merely that the Savior was born in Bethlehem, but the special sign: He lay in a manger as a helpless infant. This demonstrates that the Word, the Son of God, truly became flesh, entered into human nature, not merely entering the world but entering into the body of a human being. The term "incarnation" (nhập thể) is distinguished from "entering the world" (nhập thế) to emphasize this profound reality.

The supreme mystery of Christmas lies in two points: first, the Trinity—three persons in one God in perfect unity; second, the union of the Trinity with human nature in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ possesses 100% of God's divinity—He is of the same substance, the Second Person of the Trinity—while simultaneously possessing 100% of human nature. Although human language has limitations in expressing this truth, Scripture clearly affirms that the Word does not diminish or change when He becomes incarnate. Athanasius, an important historical figure in the Church, spent his entire life defending one letter in explaining the nature of Jesus Christ—homoousios (same substance) rather than homoiousios (similar substance).

If the Word did not truly become flesh, the entire New Testament would be meaningless. There would be no miracles of healing, no resurrection from the dead, nor any message of the Gospel. More importantly, there would be no salvation, because only God—the Infinite, Boundless One—could die with infinite value to save all people. Because Jesus possesses divine nature, He can declare "I and the Father are one," "I am," or "Before Abraham was, I am." Yet the Word also possesses complete human nature—He hungered, thirsted, experienced sorrow and joy, anger and compassion like all of us, and can sympathize with humanity because He endured the temptations that people face.

The Apostle John opens his Gospel by explaining clearly: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The word "logos" (Word) carries meaning not only as God's spoken word in creation but as the power of God's action. All things were created through the Word, and the Word is the Self-Existent One, the Eternal One, without beginning. However, though the Word is completely God, He in His love—which requires at least two persons in relationship—willingly and voluntarily became flesh in the form of a helpless infant lying in a manger to accomplish humanity's redemption.

One remarkable aspect of the Incarnation is that God, the Creator of all things, became poor. He had no place to lay His head, was born in a manger, grew up in Nazareth—a place people questioned as capable of producing anything good. At His death, even the one garment He wore was divided among soldiers by casting lots. Yet this "poverty" carries profound meaning: voluntary restriction of divine power, acceptance of hardship, isolation, mistreatment, misunderstanding, and ultimately a shameful death. This remarkable self-emptying demonstrates God's unconditional love for unworthy and rejected people. As Paul writes: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." Here "rich" refers not to material wealth but to spiritual blessing and fullness in Christ.