We are about to celebrate the birth of Christ in the flesh, the mystery of the Incarnation.
Since the world likes to decorate with lights, put on shows and parties, and exchange gifts, one can easily neglect to ask who the Son of God is and to meditate on this great mystery. St. John Henry Newman, the newest Doctor of the Church, invites us to meditate on the Scriptures so as to grow in the knowledge of the Word Incarnate. In a sermon entitled “Christ, the Son of God made Man,” Newman first reflects on God’s words to Moses, which teach the truth of His divinity. From eternity, Christ was the Living and True God:
He says there, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), by which words He declares that He did not begin to exist from the Virgin’s womb, but had been in existence before. And by using the words I am, He seems to allude, as I have already said, to the Name of God, which was revealed to Moses in the burning bush, when he was commanded to say to the children of Israel, “I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exod. 3:14).
St. John Henry continues, expressing in a few words the mystery of the Incarnation—the great singular event that we celebrate each year at Christmas. God assumed human nature; the Eternal Son of God became man.
“St. Paul says of Christ, that He was ‘in the form of God,’ and ‘thought it not robbery to be equal with God,’ yet ‘made Himself of no reputation.’ In like manner St. John says: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’”
We stand before the ineffable mystery of the equality and unity between the Persons of the Trinity, whereby the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God—not three gods, but one God.
St. John Henry Newman enumerates the teaching of several biblical passages that convey this truth:
“St. Thomas addressed Him as his Lord and his God; and St. Paul declares that He is ‘God over all, blessed for ever’; and the prophet Isaiah, that He is ‘the mighty God, the Everlasting Father’; and St. Paul again, that He is ‘our great God and Saviour’; and St. Jude, that He is ‘our only Sovereign God and Lord.’”
(Phil. 2:6–7; John 1:1; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Isa. 9:6; Tit. 2:13; Jude 4)
Newman formulates these truths in words reminiscent of the Athanasian Creed, recited monthly in the Roman and Anglican liturgy. He writes:
“We know, indeed, that the Father is God also, and so is the Holy Ghost; but still Christ is God and Lord, most fully, completely, and entirely, in all attributes as perfect and as adorable, as if nothing had been told us of Father or of Holy Ghost; as much to be adored as, before He came in the flesh, the Father was adored by the Jews, and is now to be adored by us ‘in spirit and in truth.’”
These considerations invite us to look with eyes of faith at Christ’s Nativity and at the representations of His virginal birth. The Eternal Son took up a human nature. He became a Child like all other children, in need of food, warmth, affection, and protection. God emptied Himself of His power in order to embrace our human condition and redeem us with the same flesh that in the first Adam had sinned. We can only marvel at God’s condescension, at His marvelous love for mankind and for each one of us.
At Christmas we come before a beautiful Child who is consubstantial with the Father. The senses perceive the humanity of the Child, but faith alone reveals His divinity. It was foretold by Moses and the prophets—especially Isaiah and Daniel—that the Christ would be the Messiah, the Emmanuel.
With grateful hearts and the humility of faith, let us come before the Son of Man made flesh. Reflecting on God’s love in Christ, we are moved to empathy and compassion for every person, especially the weakest—the children, the elderly and the sick. Moved by the example and help of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, who cared for the Child Jesus, we too desire to care for every person around us.
Come Lord Jesus, Come!
