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Day Twenty-Five of Advent

Scripture

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. … And an angel of the Lord appeared … and said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”

— Luke 2:4-7, 9-11

Devotional

What is the Incarnation? Matthew 1:18 literally means: “Mary was found with one in her womb by the Holy Spirit.” The Incarnation teaches us that God broke into the world through one illiterate Jew-ish girl. One world broke into another through her womb. It’s a unique claim, one that no other religion makes. For Judaism and Islam, incarnation is impossible. God is too great to have ever broken into this world. It is pathetic, demeaning, and even blasphemous to them to suggest that God would stoop to become a baby, to nurse and wet His diaper. But think about it: If a person is too great to get down on a child’s level, we don’t say he’s great. Christ the Lord stoops to Mary’s womb.

God did not become less than God when He came in flesh; but He suffered humiliation. The powerful became powerless; the strong became weak; the invulnerable became vulnerable; the unapproachable, approachable. God became a baby, in fact, a single cell. The Incarnation is not impossible, but it is amazing and necessary.

It is necessary because God says, “I hate suffering, and the only way I can ultimately destroy it is to experience it myself.” The Incarnation means God broke in to humanity to suffer. The Incarnation means you don’t have to say when you suffer, “Something is wrong with me, I must be bad.” The Incarnation shows us that it is not the bad that suffer, it is actually the best who do. The Incarnation also means you don’t have to say about suffering, “God is unfeeling, uncaring,” but that God suffered far worse than you have. In Christ, God understands and identifies with our hurt. Our God is the only God with wounds.

Prayer

Thank you, Father, for breaking into this world through the womb of Mary and for the wonder of the Incarnation, where Your Son identifies with us and suffers for us. Thank you that in Jesus You, who had all power, became powerless for us. Thank you, that without giving up any of Your greatness, You stooped down low for us. Thank you that, veiled in flesh, Your Godhead we see. Amen.