“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). The Logos, the Word, the second person of the Holy Trinity, dwelt or another translation, “tabernacled” among us. The Son of God pitched his tent in our midst. This is a reference to the tabernacle or tent of meeting which was erected whenever Moses and those who had escaped slavery in Egypt camped. Within the tent of meeting was placed the Ark of the Covenant. This tent of meeting was made present because God instructed Moses to do so that he would be present with his people. “They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8).
God, from the beginning, sought to dwell with his people. He breathed his breath of life into Adam to give him life, he took a rib out of Adam and formed Eve, God walked among Adam and Even “at the breezy time of day” (Genesis 3:8). Each of these images show the intention of intimacy that God had from the moment of creating his children.
His children continued to turn away. God did not give up. He remained faithful. He continued to reach out in time to establish a covenant. He did so with Adam and Eve, with Noah, with Abraham, and with Moses. With Moses he established The Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle housing it was portable and would move with the people, such that God was always present in their midst. The basic structure would later become the foundation for Solomon’s temple, and then Herod’s Temple. The Holy of Holies was believed to be the very seat of God in Jerusalem. In the fullness of time, Jesus was born to us, and he became the living temple, Emmanuel, God with us. “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19).
And why did Jesus come? So that the glory of God could be revealed not just to the temple priest, but to all of us, “and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). Jesus came to be one with us in our humanity while remaining fully divine to reveal the glory of his Father to us, the same glory that filled the tabernacle. Jesus entered our humanity to be present, to come close and accompany us, in our very midst, in a much more intimate way than God did in the tabernacle and then the Temple.
Jesus was born to share the fullness of God’s grace and his truth with us. He came to restore the ancient covenant that God has been making with his people throughout the ages. Jesus invites us to share in the infinite, faithful love that he shares, has shared, and always will share with his Father. This free, generous act of love is a pure gift. Jesus, in becoming human, in living among us, in teaching, healing, and so building a bridge of relationship with God, shines his light. A light that is not overcome by the darkness of pride, hatred, prejudice, and violence, so that we can see the truth, that God is our Father and we are all brothers and sisters.
The Incarnation, the reality that the Son of God became human while remaining fully divine, reveals to us that none of us are junk. God created us good and was willing to send his Son to become one with us. Each of us by our very existence has human dignity, value, and worth because we are created in his image and likeness.
Because of our fallen nature, we retain the image of God, but we have lost our likeness to him. We have lost our glory. Ezekiel witnessed the glory of the LORD leaving the temple because of the unwillingness of the people to repent (See Ezekiel 10:1-22). We, if we choose to remain in our sin will remain in darkness, separated from God. Jesus came to redeem us and restore us to our glory, so that we can regain our likeness to the Father. That is why John the Baptist, Jesus, and his Apostles all called us to repent.
When we return to God, and accept his invitation to spend time with him in prayer, worship, and service, we leave the darkness of selfishness and sin behind. We rise up to walk into the light of the Lord’s love and continue along the path of reconciliation. Our likeness is then restored to the extent that we develop and spend time cultivating our relationship with and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us. This is the process of deification. We participate in the divinity of God through his grace. When we participate in the life of Jesus we experience what is God’s by nature. We don’t become God. We participate in his divine life and so become what we were created to be, disciples and saints.
This unmeritorious gift of grace, is what we are celebrating this Christmas Season. Let us open and lift up our hearts and minds to receive, rest in, and ponder the significance of this wonderful gift: Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, came to share his divine nature so that we can participate in the divine life of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That is good news to rest in as we prepare for the new year.
Photo: God has blessed us with two books in which he reveals himself, the Bible and his creation. Jesus, in his incarnation is the wedding of the two, the divine and the human.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 