Why Does The Incarnation Matter?

“Jesus is ‘at once’ God and human.”

-Cyril of Alexandria 


Have you ever taken a step back to really think about this?  What does this tell us about God?

God chose to inhabit a human being.  God chose to experience life on this earth in a human body.  God experienced humanity.

this post may contain affiliate links

As children we rely on our parents to love us.  Our parents take care of us.  We play with our friends and or siblings.  We attend school.  We do household chores.  We grow up and mature.  We experience loss when loved ones die. 

As adults we work to earn a living.  Our basic needs must be met for food, clothing and shelter.  If we have a family, we take care of our children.  We work with our partner to raise and teach our children. We are a family unit.  We eat together as a family.  We vacation.  We fill our weekends with fun activities.  slide1-952x394-960x400_c

We socialize with our friends.  We barbecue with our friends.  We bowl or go to the movies with our friends. We vacation with friends.  Our friends are an important part of our lives.    

We have hobbies.  There are things we enjoy.  We might like to read, exercise or take walks.  We might like to paint, build or fix things.      

We age.  We endure hardships.  Life can sometimes be very difficult.  We become ill.  We battle health issues.  As we age, we rely on the assistance of friends and family members.  We die. 

God experienced humanity and all its joys and struggles.  Jesus experienced the same life we experience.  He was born as a baby, raised and taken care of by his parents, played as a child, learned how to become a young man and matured as an adult.  Jesus suffered.  Jesus died on the cross.  Jesus was resurrected.   

God became human so humanity could see God within.  The two are linked together.  You cannot separate the two.  You cannot tell where one begins and the other ends.  Yes, Jesus was at once God and human!

We too have the spark of the divine within our humanity.  Our humanity and inner divinity are linked together.  The two must work together.  Our humanity flourishes when we let our inner divinity shine. 

Go Further:

Healing the Divide: Recovering Christianity’s Mystic Roots by Amos Smith

Is Your God Big Enough? Close Enough? You Enough?: Jesus and the Three Faces of God  by Paul R Smith

Integral Christianity: The Spirit’s Call to Evolve by Paul R Smith

 

A Journey of Discernment with the teachings of Mary Margaret Funk and other contemplative voices by Contemplative Outreach, Mary Margaret Funk: This e-course explores the contemplative approach to discerning the small and large decisions in life, which comes from cultivating a life practice of unceasing prayer (whatever types of prayer that may encompass for you). Discernment means sorting our thoughts and following the impulse of grace given by the Holy Spirit. As Sr. Meg writes, “Since we are not our thoughts, we can observe them rising and follow the ones that are from God.” This is a way of coming more awake and discovering the spark of divinity burning in our hearts.

Poetry and Prayer from the Celtic Tradition by Carl McColman: The traditional Celtic people of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales wove prayers, blessings, poems, and songs into every aspect of their daily lives — using the power of language to blend a rich spirituality of presence and wisdom into the very fabric of their being. Many of these poetic invocations and charming poems were collected by folklorist Alexander Carmichael over 100 years ago and preserved in the book Carmina Gadelica — the “Charms of the Gaels.”

Celtic Spirituality At the Edge of Mystery by Carl McColman: Consider it a pilgrimage into one of the best examples of everyday spirituality. Celtic wisdom and poetry ​encourages us to recognize the holy all around us, honors and protects the sacred earth, gives inspiration to free our creative voice, and presents a holistic path that links the quest for holiness with ​an ​embodied​​ sense of Divine love.

Sounds True has titles by teachers and authors such as Thomas Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault, James Finley, Richard Rohr, David Frenette, Parker Palmer , Eckhart  Tolle , Michael Singer , Jon Kabat-Zinn , Marianne Williamson to name a few.

Contemplative Light offers courses on contemplative practices (Christian Meditation, Centering Prayer, The Examen, Lectio Divina, The Jesus Prayer), the Christian mystics (ancient and current) and spiritual writing. Peruse their wonderful offerings.

Prayer-Bracelet: Authentic Orthodox prayer ropes and bracelets are handmade by monks in the Orthodox monastaries reciting a prayer for every knot they tie. Peruse their prayer ropes and bracelets that are all handmade, provided by several orthodox churches around the globe.

2 thoughts on “Why Does The Incarnation Matter?”

  1. Doesn’t this necessarily make apotheosis (divinization, deification) possible. What then is “human nature” in relationship to God, if humans can become God?
    It’s a concept I can’t find a way to reconcile to my understanding of being human.

    1. I think of it more in that via prayer and an intimate relationship with God we partake in the energies of God. We do not become God. We put on the Mind of Christ.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *