“Long ago God spoke to our
ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days
he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through
whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the
exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his
powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” Hebrews 1:1-4.
These opening verses of Hebrews, which are proclaimed at Midnight Mass and
included as one of the readings at Lessons and Carols on Christmas Day, help
us see and understand that the birth of the Child is part of a larger,
indeed cosmic, story: God’s Son took on our mortal flesh so that the
temporal and the eternal might forever be linked. For us to proclaim that
Christ is “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very
being” is to declare that “flesh is God’s territory no less than spirit”
(David J. Wood) and that all is God’s.
This incarnational theology is a centerpiece of Anglicanism. While
eloquently expressed throughout the Book of Common Prayer (e.g., “Father,
you loved the world so much that in the fullness of time you sent your only
Son to be our Savior. Incarnated by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin
Mary, he lived as one of us, yet without sin . . . .” Eucharistic Prayer
D), it is emphasized and amplified during the season of Christmas in the
beautiful Collects appointed for the season: “O God, you have caused this
holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we,
who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him
perfectly in heaven . . . .” (Christmas Day II); “Almighty God, you
have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him . . . .” (Christmas
Day III); “Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your
incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine
forth in our lives . . . .” (First Sunday after Christmas Day);
“Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be
the sign of our salvation . . . .” (The Holy Name); and “Grant that
we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our
humanity, your Son Jesus Christ . . . .” (Second Sunday after Christmas
Day). These prayers reveal our yearning to know God’s grace and presence
to our very core.
It is easy for our yearly remembrance of the birth of the Child to stir up
nostalgic memories. But the birth of the Child is not simply an event of
historical significance. The miracle and mystery of Christmas is to see and
know God in the flesh, both our own and in the faces of “the poor, the sick,
the hungry, the oppressed, and those in prison.” When the “Word made flesh”
becomes a present reality for us we feel God’s loving embrace through and
through and are filled with joy and peace. May this Christmas be a time in
which you will discern and identify the “Word made flesh” in the acts and
movements of your everyday life.
May God’s peace be with you.
Paul+
