Present incarnation

We're going to look back a little bit in order to look forward. Christmas is all about celebrating the Incarnation. For followers of Christ, this is really an everyday kind of thing. So often, the whole "God-with-us" reality of the Incarnation gets lost amidst our tendency to focus on gifts, parties and the like.

Incarnation means "being made flesh" from the Latin root. This activity in the past has on-going meaning and action in the present and on into the future.

That's what the birth of Jesus is all about. That's what Jesus reveals – God becomes human. The incredible point of the Incarnation is that God becomes human, fully human.

Not God became human. God becomes human to be fully present with us. It has always been this way. It will always be this way.

The birth of Jesus revealed it to humanity – revealed what God had been showing all along. And we-that is, humanity-again and again had missed it. We missed it with creation and Abraham and Moses. We missed it during the time of the prophets and kings. Finally, God showed up in Jesus to reveal the truth of who God is and what God is about. Fully present, fully with-us, fully human.

Why? God wants us to be fully present and fully human as well. God loves all of humanity – without distinction, without separation, without ulterior motives. God sees that we don't live fully present human lives. We pretend, we project, we speculate. We live too much in the past (hello depression, bitterness, resentment), or too much in the future (I know you well anxiety and hopelessness).

The closer we allow God to draw us into God's very self, the more truly human we become, the more present we are capable of being. Each one of us, all of us. We cannot do this becoming work by ourselves – so God becomes us. God still does this even now.

What is true humanity? True humanity is the way of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Sound familiar (Galatians 5:22-23)? We cannot force this way in ourselves. God shows up, fully human, in us and in others, so that we can practice and live into our true selves.

As we move into the new year, let's keep our eyes, ears, hearts and minds open to the presence and power of God in Christ all around us. Let's allow the Divine Presence to deepen our humanity. This is God's desire and promise. I certainly don't want to miss it.