The Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 21, 2025
The Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 21, 2025
The Narrative Lectionary – NL416
John 1:1-18 (Psalm 130:5-8)
The Word Made Flesh—The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
Greetings!
Welcome to Table Talk featuring the Narrative Lectionary. For the past two liturgical years, Table Talk has featured the One-Year Lectionary that was in use when Martin Luther was preaching. Before that, Table Talk used a form of the Three-Year Lectionary. The Narrative Lectionary is a bit different. Rather than having its origin in a church body or being of ancient times, this Narrative Lectionary is primarily the work of two professors at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Drs. Craig Koester and Rolf Jacobson develop and implement the lectionary through the website www.WorkingPreacher.org. The Narrated Lectionary features a single extended scripture reading that, over the course of the four nine-month layouts, takes in the major stories depicting God’s history with his people. A short second reading is paired with the extended reading. This contrasts with previously used lectionaries that assign four readings per Sunday. Because the extended reading is so long, it will not be included in the Table Talk handout. Please use your Bible to read the text before reading the Table Talk comments. Since the scripture text is not included and there are many possible topics for comment, the Table Talk commentary will be longer than in the past.
“And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17)
The Word of God, Jesus Christ, in whom is the fullness of divinity… in whom is the fullness of humanity… in whom resides the fullness of divine creative power… upon whom the fullness of human vulnerability and frailty rests… this divine completeness takes on human flesh and lives among us so that humanity would receive “grace upon grace.” Jesus gives from his fullness; humanity receives in its emptiness. No matter the depth of humanity’s emptiness, Jesus’ fullness will never be depleted… never be exhausted… his fullness never diminished. Jesus’ fullness does not come incrementally but only as his fullness. Human emptiness is not filled piecemeal or incrementally, but only wholly and entirely by the coming of Jesus’ fullness.
Jesus’ fullness comes as grace upon grace. John parses this as the grace received by God’s people prior to the coming of Jesus Christ, and then as God’s grace comes to the people in Jesus Christ. Paul expands on this parsing when he deals with the Jewish rejection of Jesus as Messiah, “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” (Ro. 9:4-5). From this grace bestowed upon the people of Israel came Jesus Christ, the bestowal of grace upon the world, including the Israelites. As John would have it, the Israelites received the law delivered through Moses. The entire world receives grace and truth delivered through Jesus Christ.
This grace and truth delivered in Jesus Christ to both Jew and Gentile… indeed to the entire world… does what the law given through Moses could not do. In grace and truth, Jesus delivers the heart of God. John enlightens us by simply stating the facts, “No one has ever seen God…” (Jn. 1:18a). But John goes on, giving us the latest revelation, “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]” (Jn. 1:18b KJV). Jesus comes… Jesus comes straight from the heart of God… Jesus comes from the heart of God straight to your heart. Jesus comes, making known to you the very heart of God: Grace and Truth… making known to you the God who announces of himself: “The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…” (Ex. 34:6).
The fullness of Jesus Christ… the fullness of this God revealed as merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love… abounding in faithfulness… the fullness comes to the emptiness of your sin-broken life… the fullness comes and fills you completely. Your empty, sin-broken life dies. Only your mortality remains until it, too, goes down to the dust. John’s gospel begins with the fullness of Jesus Christ coming to be your life. Jesus himself declares it so, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10).
Table Talk: Discuss the difference between a Jesus who only comes incrementally and piecemeal versus a Jesus who comes wholly, completely, and in his fullness.
Pray: Heavenly Father, grant me to know the difference between the grace that comes through the law given by Moses and the grace and truth which comes through Jesus Christ. Amen