“And the Word became flesh and lived among us…”
With these words at the beginning of the Gospel of John, we are given a succinct and yet remarkably profound description of the Incarnation. During these twelve days of Christmas, we remember and celebrate this central tenet of our faith: that in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, God mysteriously and irrevocably entered the human condition.
From a theological perspective, western Christianity has often prioritized Easter over Christmas. Jesus’ birth may have been a seminal moment for Christianity, but his death and resurrection are understood to be the culmination of God’s salvific purposes for humanity. I’m not suggesting this is wrong, but I think it’s important that we not overlook the world-altering implications of John’s incarnational language.
At the heart of our faith as Christians is the shocking assertion that the transcendent and co-eternal Logos (Word) of God actually took on flesh and became human. It’s hard to exaggerate how scandalous this notion would have been in a first century context in which Greek philosophy had engendered a largely dualistic worldview. “Flesh” and “spirit” were generally viewed as being at odds with each other – flesh was bad, spirit was good. The notion that God would enter into fleshy corporeality would have been unthinkable for many first century folk. And yet, our faith says God did just that, out of love and desire for intimate relationship with all of Creation.
These brief and inadequate words of mine only begin to scratch the surface of the meaning found in John’s words about the Incarnation (which we will be reading this Sunday). During the remaining days of this Christmastide, I invite you to consider what an amazing thing it is that the Word of God became flesh and lived among us.
Yours in Christ,
Kevin+
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