Incarnating God in the World
Luke 2:1-14
At Christmas, we remember our supreme existential task, the one that defines our reason for living: to incarnate the good by becoming more human.
Yes, to incarnate the good, or–if we want to give flesh to God since God is the highest Good–then we can say: to incarnate Love.
We are all “pregnant” with God: we must give birth to him in the world.
Every good deed, every ray of light kindled in the darkness, every act of caring and concern that gives dignity to the human being, every word that builds up, every embrace that warms and restores, contributes to incarnating God in the world, dispelling the haze of darkness that envelops the whole earth.
Toil, pain, and tears will always accompany this rebirth–this effort of ours to “ascend.”
Scenes of the nativity depicted in ancient icons portray the infant Jesus “swaddled” in funeral garments and lying in a dark cave. “Jesus was born as a human being in Bethlehem and died as God on the cross” (Fr. Michael Do).
Jesus, and every human being, is born a unique seed, each distinct from all the others. Deposited in the soil of history, that seed can reveal its full beauty only if it is open to the intense, ongoing and clear-cut workings of Love–each individual’s personal Good Friday.
So then, happy birthday to everyone!
May it be a blessed Christmas of resurrection!
Taken from the Homilies of Fr. Paolo Scquizzato
