incarnation

Jesus came to dwell among us so we could dwell with him in the Trinity.

“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.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, December 31, 2025

“Awake, mankind! For your sake God became man.” – St. Augustine of Hippo

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

If there are ever words to meditate and ponder upon these are them! The danger is becoming complacent or indifferent to the reality that they present, or to the idea that this is just any other day that we just endure, get through, and go on to the next day. Instead, may we embrace the promise and invitation they convey to us as individuals, as a people, and for all of creation.

The Word, Logos, in the Greek, who was, who is, and who always will be, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, has become one with us. We are the minutest of minutest speck of specks present in the whole of the cosmos. And yet, we have been graced by the presence of God who became man for each and every one of us, each individual person, so we can be one with him. He became human that we might become divine through our participation in his life.

The Mystery we celebrate today is that God took on flesh, becoming fully human, while at the same time, remaining fully divine. He did not just appear to be a man for a time and cast off his humanity like a worn cloak. The Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived in the womb of Mary, developed as you and I did, and when born let out a gasp and a cry indicating that our Savior was born to us. Joseph and Mary gazed in wonder at the gift of their son, the gift of the Incarnation of the Son of God for the whole world.

Christmas Day is the celebration of new life. Not just the birth of any baby, but through his coming into the world, a new beginning for humanity and creation. We do not just celebrate the baby who would become a great teacher, moral template, or even messiah, but the coming of our Savior. Jesus – his name meaning, one who saves – is the reality and the hope that we may be, just as the ancestors of Jesus we can read about in the genealogy of Matthew (see Mt 1:1-25) wounded but not undone, not unmade, not destroyed, but saved from our faults, fears, sins, traumas and our slavery to sin. God’s grace is greater than our suffering, wounds, our worst mistakes, misjudgments, and most grievous faults.

Though darkness may appear to reign with ongoing wars, violence, political and racial division, injustice, and the unfortunate long and unseemly endless list of disharmony; no matter what we may be struggling with: the anxiety and stresses of daily life, this season, mounting bills, the concern of a medical condition for ourself or a loved one, doubts and fears, or that this will be the first, fifth, or tenth Christmas that we no longer have our loved one(s) by our side, darkness has not won.

No matter what personal challenges we may be facing, today we celebrate that “A light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it” (Jn 1:5). This is a day to breathe, to experience hope, a peace that surpasses all understanding, and to rejoice, to reconcile. A day to recommit to the light, to the baby who would later call himself, “the way, and the truth, and the life” (cf. Jn 14:6).

Let us renounce and repent from anything that is not of God so that we can embrace this baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, that also died and was wrapped in a shroud; the baby who was born in a cave because there was no room for him and no willingness from anyone to let him in, that would also be laid in a tomb after dying for us; and the baby who was placed in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, because he would also become the Bread of Life that we may feed on him and have life eternal.

I invite you to imagine yourself coming close to the baby Jesus. Receive him from Mary and cradle him in your arms. Look him in the eye and lose yourself in them. Experience his smile and the peace and love that comes from his gaze. And when he grasps his little fingers around your finger, may you experience his peace. In this moment may all be well, may you feel healing and renewal. Return and repeat as often as needed this Christmas Season.

This baby came to help us to actualize the truth and realization that: “We cannot save ourselves. We can only open ourselves to the hope that comes to us from without, from others, ultimately from one Other” (Lohfink 2014, 255). The One other whose birth we celebrate today: “The Light of the human race” (Jn 1:4).

Merry Christmas and may God bless you and all you hold close to your heart!

Photo: Because of the miracle of the Incarnation, we can celebrate each Mass the miracle of the Eucharist. Stained glass window at Holy Cross Catholic Church, Vero Beach, Fl.

Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, December 25, 2025

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14).

If there are ever words to meditate and ponder upon these are them! The danger is becoming complacent or indifferent to the reality that they present, or to the idea that this is just any other day that we just endure, get through, and go on to the next day. Instead, may we embrace the promise and invitation they convey to us as individuals, as a people, and for all of creation.

The Word, Logos, in the Greek, who was, who is, and who always will be, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, has become one with us. We are the minutest of minutest speck of specks present in the whole of the cosmos. And yet, we have been graced by the presence of God who became man for each and every one of us, each individual person, so we can be one with him. He became human that we might become divine through our participation in his life.

The Mystery we celebrate today is that God took on flesh, becoming fully human, while at the same time, remaining fully divine. He did not just appear to be a man for a time and cast off his humanity like a worn cloak. The Son of God was conceived in the womb of Mary, developed as you and I did, and when born let out a gasp and a cry indicating that the Savior was born to us. Joseph and Mary gazed in wonder at the gift of their Son, the gift of the Incarnation for the whole world.

Christmas Day is the celebration of new life. Not just the birth of any baby, but through his coming into the world, a new beginning for humanity and creation. We do not just celebrate the baby who would become a great teacher and moral template, but the coming of our Savior. Jesus – his name meaning, one who saves – is the reality and the hope that we may be, just as the ancestors of Jesus we can read about in the genealogy of Matthew (see Mt 1:1-25)wounded and even a bit broken, but not undone, not unmade, not destroyed but saved from our faults, fears, sins, traumas and our slavery to sin. God’s grace is greater than our suffering, wounds, our worst mistakes, misjudgments, and most grievous faults.

Though darkness may appear to reign with ongoing wars, violence, political and racial division, injustice, and the unfortunate long and unseemly endless list of disharmony; no matter what we may be struggling with: the anxiety and stresses of daily life, this season, mounting bills, the concern of a medical condition for ourself or a loved one, doubts and fears, or that this will be the first, fifth, or tenth Christmas that we no longer have our loved one(s) by our side, darkness has not won.

No matter what personal challenges we may be facing, today we celebrate that “A light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it” (Jn 1:5). This is a day to breathe, to experience hope, a peace that surpasses all understanding, and to rejoice, to reconcile. A day to recommit to the light, to the baby who would later call himself, “the way, and the truth, and the life” (cf. Jn 14:6).

Let us renounce and repent from anything that is not of God so that we can embrace this baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, that also died and was wrapped in a shroud; the baby who was born in a cave because there was no room for him and no willingness from anyone to let him in, that would also be laid in a tomb after dying for us; and the baby who was placed in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, because he would also become the Bread of Life that we may feed on him and have life eternal.

This baby came to help us to actualize the truth and realization that: “We cannot save ourselves. We can only open ourselves to the hope that comes to us from without, from others, ultimately from one Other” (Lohfink 2014, 255). The One other whose birth we celebrate today: “The Light of the human race” (Jn 1:4).

Merry Christmas and may God bless you and all you hold close to your heart!

Painting: Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst

Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.

Link for Christmas, Mass of the Day, Wednesday, December 25, 2024