In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
The incarnation. The Word of God breaking into our lives in the form of a tiny baby, Jesus Christ, bringing light, hope, love, joy and peace. The Message paraphrase of the Bible describes the incarnation as this, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14). The incarnation means that not only has God come to dwell on earth but God dwells with us, in our own neighborhood AND in the neighborhoods of our friends and enemies near and far. God coming in human form means that not only can God know and understand our human joys and sufferings, but God can and does bring light and hope into all our human conditions. The inbreaking of God turns our world upside down, shining light where we never thought it could.
Thanks be to God that Emmanuel, God with us, is here!
Prayer: “My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait. You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn, so from east to west shall my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn? My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.” (Hymn, “Canticle of the Turning,” Text by Rory Cooney)
by Rev. Allysen Schaaf
Image source: “Inbreaking,” Lisle Gwynn Garrity. Acrylic on canvas.
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