The Incarnation
a few thoughts on what it is, and what it means
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” — John 1:17
Merry Christmas, friends and fellow seekers of the Good True Beautiful.
Wherever you are in the world, and whatever you’re up to today, I hope your day is rich in peace and delight, and the ease of true belonging that we all crave so deeply. Perhaps most of all, may your soul be nourished today by that ancient but ever-new sense of wonder that so many think of when we think of Christmas, and (if we were lucky) got to experience when we were young.
Wonder civilizes the mind. It beckons the imagination into a quest for understanding. Wonder awakens the heart to its truest story, and to the far-reaching beauty of its nascent possibilities. It seduces the soul into a love affair with becoming. Wonder inspires us to reach for something more than we are; indeed, to become more than we thought we could be.
For me, there is no greater wonder than the mystery of the Christian Incarnation, which carries within it the true message of Christmas. Immanuel: God becoming one of us … God incarnating All God Is inside a baby, and through that baby, inside me, and inside you, for no other reason than love. It is a wonderful possibility to consider: That God is in love with us, and in the Incarnation becomes one of us for the sake of that love, inviting us — no, beckoning, seducing, enticing, enchanting, inviting, daring, challenging, confronting, pleading, begging us — to become one with him. This invitation to oneness with the Divine is the gospel. It is the point of Christmas. God taking human form in Jesus is God’s proclamation to humanity: Look! This is the Way. This is the Answer to Everything. Let me take up human form in you, too.
This is the deep message of Christmas: That the world will heal not by the force of selfish men nor by the might or power of their armies, but by the humble love of God-possessed people. Christmas is quite radical in this regard. It proclaims through Jesus that the loving union between God and a human heart, even when when it takes the form of a helpless child, is strong enough to turn the power systems of the world on their head. Through Jesus, God announced that God-powered love channeled through human hearts will overcome every tyrant’s might and dismantle every earthly power structure born of greed or the craving for control. The world will be set right by hearts who let the Divine build a temple inside them. The restoration of humanity will come through simple souls who surrender their will to God.
Yes, there is the problem of sin — those self-preserving drives in us that block us from union, reactive fears and lusts we may rightly call "anti-God” or antichrist. And yes, there is brokenness; not one of us makes it to adulthood in one piece. There are many, many hurts to overcome on our way to union with Christ. But none of those things are the ultimate reason Jesus appeared. They are merely stepping stones along the path we must travel. They are the means, but they are not the destination. The goal of Christmas is Incarnation: God incarnating himself in us in love, that we may become fully alive in our oneness with him. This call to a living, vibrant union with God is the core of the Christmas message. It is the gospel. It is the Good News. This is the Grace and Truth of God that Jesus came to reveal.
This Truth can always be recognized by its primary effect: The Truth sets you free. This is the Truth revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ: that Divine Love is in love with you, and because of that love has become just like you, and is seeking you out, and is beckoning you to become one with Itself. Jesus offers himself to each of us as this Truth. He is the door to this revolutionary Way of oneness with God. He is the gate to this radically surrendered Life of love that overcomes.
May you experience that love today, and everyday from this day forth.
Merry Christmas!
Michael
