INCARNATION AND TRANSFORMATION: A CHRISTMAS MEDITATION
by
Joseph E. Mulligan, S.J., 2009
The Christmas message, that God became incarnate in history in order to help humanity, is indeed Good News (gospel) to all. To the terrified shepherds the angel proclaimed: “Do not be afraid; for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people” (Lk 2:10). When the wise men from the East arrived at the birthplace of Jesus, “they were overwhelmed with joy” (Mt 2:10). And Mark begins his gospel on a similarly happy note: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1).
In order for a message to be “news,” it must be of something really happening in our lives, in the world, in history. And it is “good” news to the extent that it signifies some genuine betterment, or at least a good possibility of that, in the lives and conditions of its hearers.
The world in which the Word took on flesh is a mixed scene in which evil wars upon goodness, justice, and love in human hearts and in the structures of society. Christmas means that the good not only has a chance but will ultimately win this conflict.
Sin: Rending the Social Fabric
Sin is an unfettered, selfish liberty which has no concept of connectedness and no recognition of personal or social responsibility. Paul cautioned against this distorted kind of freedom in Galatians 5:13–15: “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
Sin, at its origin in Genesis, is twofold: self-idolization (“you will not die…. You will be like God,” 3:4–5) leading immediately to the rending of the social fabric (“Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘where is your brother Abel?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brotherīs keeper?’” — 4:8–9). A blind, irresponsible liberty will necessarily trample upon the human rights of others.
Examples abound of such insensitivity on both the personal and collective level. As for the latter, super-nationalism, racism, male chauvinism in churches and in society, and human arrogance toward the environment are forms of selfishness “writ large.” With typical American arrogance of power, the U.S. did not heed Archbishop Romero’s request for an end of military aid to the murderous Salvadoran army. Similarly, the Reagan administration brushed off the World Courtīs ruling to cease interfering by force and violence in the affairs of Sandinista Nicaragua.
Since then we have seen a US invasion of Iraq based on deliberate lies, the slaughter of enormous numbers of civilians, a policy of torture (including the threat or use of electric drills on prisoners), an escalating military action in Afghanistan which is turning into a classic quagmire for the current administration, and other expressions of sinful systems and policies.
The Incarnation
It is in this world, dominated by the American empire, that Jesus becomes incarnate today. “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” (Jn 1:1–3). What does this imply?
The Word (“logos”) is the Logic, Pattern, Blueprint of human society and of all creation, akin to Wisdom in the Old Testament. Through him/her all things came into being: gender, race, nationality, language, culture, and government as a way of ordering communal life. As Walter Wink emphasizes, all of these are good, though fallen (precisely when they raise themselves to become gods of domination), but always capable of being redeemed (Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1992).
When Jesus redeems, he restores persons and things to their true selves, since he is the Plan according to which everything was created. As Thomas Merton said, “To be a saint is to be yourself” — your true self, before you were programmed to be fearful, self-centered, dominating, and violent.
The Word is the light of all people because we exist in his/her likeness and pattern. In the light of the Word the true being of everything is illuminated.
St. Paul speaks of the risen Christ as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation … in whom all things hold together” and have their true being (Col 1:15–17). Since Christ is the perfect image of God, and we are created in Godīs image and likeness, we attain our true identity by being incorporated into Christ.
Rejection
And yet the world, even his own, did not accept him: “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11).
Creation had become twisted, distorted from its divine model, and so the creature did not know its true nature. John presents Jesus’ explanation of this: “The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God” (3:19–21).
In a similar vein Paul explains that evil suppresses the truth: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth” (Rom 1:18).
Acceptance and Transformation
The battle between light and darkness is part of the war between good and evil. While some choose evil, others receive the Word and are transformed into what they truly are, children of God: “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12). That power is our incorporation into the Body of Christ and our sharing in the Holy Spirit of Love.
The Word made flesh is “Emmanuel,” which, Matthew explains, means “God with us” (Mt 1:23). Since Jesus is the True Person, some wise men from the East, searching for truth, come to him in Bethlehem: “On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (2:11).
To whom did they kneel to give homage? Not to a domineering ecclesiastical chief who would have demanded that they reject their cultural and religious heritage as “pagan” or perhaps even diabolical, but to an infant in a modest dwelling. The baby Jesus did not require their total submission; the family gratefully accepted the visitorsī gifts and wished them well on their journey. They represent all the peoples of the world to whom the Good News of forgiveness and liberation is to be proclaimed (Mark 16:15); Jesus is the Truth they are seeking.
If the religions of the world could receive each otherīs gifts in mutual appreciation and gratitude, the kingdom of the one God would come closer. This prospect is not helped by Marines from a “Christian nation” attacking and calling in air strikes on a mosque in Iraq or on a civilian settlement in Afghanistan, thus killing scores of Muslims. Nor is ecumenism advanced by governments which outlaw or persecute Christianity.
Persecution
The holy family became refugees in Egypt to avoid the jealous wrath of King Herod, who took out his anger by killing “all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men” (2:16)
Later, other jealous religious authorities and the representative of the Roman emperor would succeed in executing Jesus. And down through the ages, kings, emperors, and presidents have beaten down with overwhelming violence most “uppity” types — whether prophets of Godīs kingdom or would-be political rivals, or even simply independent leaders who refuse to genuflect at the imperial throne.
Hope and Strength
But Maryīs God is one who enters into human, political history, who “brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty” (Lk 1:52–53). This God had told her and Joseph, “Do not be afraid,” and Jesus similarly assures his disciples: “Do not be afraid; …I am with you always” (Mt 28:10,20).
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