The Mystery of the Incarnation

The Incarnation is the most amazing part of Christmas, but so many people today think nothing of it. Maybe it is because we have all gotten used to the common language used to describe it. However, few really realize the depth of it. We are used to hearing Emmanuel, God with us. But do we really know what God with us means? Jesus the Saviour is born today, but what is he the Saviour of? We use the example of a King being born in poverty…but is this really so hard for us to believe. Isn’t it just another rags to riches story? We hear so many of those. Well I would like to put this all into perspective. In order to do that we have to look at whom God is.


God is infinite, He is eternal. He is not bound to the confines of time. In fact He created time. He is uncreated. This is hard for us to conceive because we and everything around us is created. We have a beginning and an end. The universe, as old as it may be, is still created. It had a beginning. But God is uncreated, having no beginning and no end. God is also above all things. He created all things so He has superiority over all things. For Him to become an inferior man is unbelievable. God became finite. He became one of His created beings. He became submissive to the confines of time and space. The omnipresent God was suddenly in one place and time. He submitted to the laws of physics which He himself had created. He now had a beginning. He was born. He had created matter and energy and light. E=MC squared. He made that rule. But now God who was Spirit had become matter. He took on flesh. He had to eat, and sleep and use the toilet. He had to wear clothes. He came to the earth as a weak infant. He was dependent on others to provide Him with clothes, food, shelter, and love. How could the Almighty God become such a thing? Why would He do such a thing? It would be like us deciding to become a cockroach in order to save all the cockroaches of the world. To enable them to become beautiful butterflies. It would mean to die as a cockroach under the shoe of a man. That is what Jesus did. He died on the cross and received all the wrath of God the Father.


Of course explaining the relationship between God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, in and of itself is a serious task. It cannot so easily be summed up in a few short sentences. But the point of this entry is the mystery of the incarnation, perhaps the most extraordinary miracle that God ever performed outside of creation.


This is what Christmas is. This is much more than carols and gifts and decorations. We should fall on our faces in complete awe at the contemplation of this event. We should spend a whole day in absolute worship and silence and stillness of our souls. Be Still and Know that I Am GOD…..and GOD is with US now. EMMANUEL.

The thing about writing something

The thing about writing something, especially when you are making it public, such as for a blog or a book, is that you expose yourself. If you say too much you might actually reveal some deep part of yourselves mistakenly for all to see. Sometimes this is a big fear of mine. I don’t want to just write about the “good things” in my life only and present myself as non-human. As though all that “bad stuff” that happens to others never touches my life. People like good news, but if they hear it all the time they start to think of it as mundane, or just plain don’t believe it.
But once you put the proverbial pen to the paper you start to reveal yourself. Now my biggest temptation is to fabricate myself. To write in a trendy, enlightened, post-modern way which makes me sound intelligent, wise and generally like someone who has it all together. I want to speak about the topic of peace. I want to be a peace ambassador, and in fact, I not only want to see changes in the world, I want people to know my name. I want to be spoken highly of. When I do that though, I realize that I am not being very selfless and altruistic in my pursuit of peace. I realize for some reason I want to be recognized; I want to know that I have some sort of significance in this world. Why is that? I think all people feel that way some time or another. I want to make a difference in the world, but the problem is that I want the world to turn around afterward and thank me.
So for me writing sometimes feels like a very vain thing to do. I mean really, who am I to tell you something. Why should you listen to me? Do I think I have it all together as if I am the expert on life? No, of course not, but it is tempting sometimes to think that way.

I like reading books, especially ones where authors are sharing from their own life experiences and are teaching on life lessons and Christian spirituality and such. I am thankful to those authors. But I probably would be turned off to reading their books if I found out they wrote only to gain my appreciation or adoration. If that was their main motivation for writing I would feel cheated. As though all the antidotes and wise lessons, and incites on life that were contained inside were just a ploy to get me to endorse them. It would be like going to a conference or seminar about some topic that you enjoy and it turns out to be a filming for an infomercial

So it comes down to this. By all means possible I am trying to really write the truth. I am trying to write without an ulterior motive of gaining applause. I want to be open and honest, but I don’t want to reveal my deepest darkest secrets to the whole world. I want to make a difference, for real, but I will admit that I am not a great candidate for it. What I mean is I have nothing special in myself that could help me to help anyone else. I need to change myself and my thinking in order to be of any help to someone else. I make mistakes, but then I change my perspective. I do not see the world the same way I saw it 5 years ago. In fact, I would say I don’t even see it the same way I saw it 2 months ago. I am constantly being changed. But it is for the good. I guess that is what theologians call sanctification. I am thankful for God working in me, giving me the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Is humanity good?

So today two events got me thinking. The first one was an article I read where 12 bystanders had seen a motorcyclist crash into a car and slide underneath. These 12 people went over and lifted the car together and pulled the young man out. They saved his life and were called heroes. Of course, none of them thought of themselves as heroes, they just said they did what they had to do. The writer of the article said that this story renewed his faith in humanity.
The second event that I witnessed today was while waiting for a minibus. I saw some young adults walking and chanting a football (soccer) chant. One guy who was standing close by decided to walk up to them and say something. When the others continued to chant, he decided to punch the one man and they began to fight. It took 3 policemen to stop them. As I thought about this in light of the first event, I began to question what faith we can really have in humanity. Of course the first story was great, but I have also heard so many more stories of people who are in danger and 12 or more bystanders remain standing and do nothing to help. I have seen and heard other instances where people will fight, hate and even kill because of a small black and white ball filled with air that you kick around a field (soccer). If people can kill over a soccer match, what significance is their life. How can a game, albeit a great game, be worth taking someone's life or even be worth violence?
Humanity has proven more often to be cruel and evil, rather than good and kind. The thought that the human spirit is a good nature, that people deep down are really good, is clearly false. There is no real evidence for this. I know that qualities of love, and kindness exist in man because of his Creator. We were made in the image of God. But we also are fallen and we have a cursed nature because of it. We need faith in God not in humanity to rescue us from our state. God help us, seriously!