Dec 30, 2021 |
God Incarnate
| The Rev. Gary LubinGod Incarnate
A lot of times, you know, we assume that God is
somewhere up there, that we need to figure out how to get up there to find God.
Like, you know, we're going to be able to do that, right? Is it too good to be
true that God made a giant leap reaching out for humanity by coming down here
to be with us? That Jesus is real star stuff, just like us, a body of flesh and
blood embodied alive incarnated? Or would we rather fantasize about something
other worldly, you know, like something out there, like the force? Which by the
way, is only accessible to Jedi’s. But not so with Jesus, because the eminent
person, Jesus, is how God relates to all of us one-on-one and in community…
John tells us that everything came into being through the word Jesus, who is full of grace and truth. Now in the early church, the word was understood to be the creative power of God, in action. Wisdom and compassion in action. All flesh (Incarnate) is an opportunity to be in a conversation with the Word. Like, you know, to speak, speak to love, speak truth to power, acting creatively. We're so much into that, you know? Our baptism signifies our intent to love and to do love in community. But acting out of fear instead causes scandal in our little corner of the universe, in our neighborhood. Really unnecessary, unjustified, self-imposed suffering. And Christmas is a time that I get so joyful that God so cares about this little speck of us. It's also a time to celebrate rebirth and new beginnings, like to prepare ourselves for incarnation, incarnation standing in front of us. To be the incarnation. To see Jesus in ourselves and to see Jesus in others and the other, to be present and to give our presence.
John tells us that everything came into being through the word Jesus, who is full of grace and truth. Now in the early church, the word was understood to be the creative power of God, in action. Wisdom and compassion in action. All flesh (Incarnate) is an opportunity to be in a conversation with the Word. Like, you know, to speak, speak to love, speak truth to power, acting creatively. We're so much into that, you know? Our baptism signifies our intent to love and to do love in community. But acting out of fear instead causes scandal in our little corner of the universe, in our neighborhood. Really unnecessary, unjustified, self-imposed suffering. And Christmas is a time that I get so joyful that God so cares about this little speck of us. It's also a time to celebrate rebirth and new beginnings, like to prepare ourselves for incarnation, incarnation standing in front of us. To be the incarnation. To see Jesus in ourselves and to see Jesus in others and the other, to be present and to give our presence.