By Raine Eguico
CFC YFL Fulltime Worker
“…and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…” – John 1:14
In the first verse of the Gospel of John, we can read “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Accepting this truth makes a good foundation of the mystery of the Incarnation. If we claim that the Word was already there in the beginning, that the Word was with God and that the Word is God Himself, then it will be easier for us to digest the “mystery of the word being made flesh and actually dwelling among us.”
What then is incarnation? What’s so special about this teaching of the Church?
They say that when we talk about the celebration per se, we talk about Christmas, and when we talk about logos, we’re talking about the Word becoming flesh, and if we’re talking about the mystery, then we’re talking about the Nativity of baby Jesus, the rather deep word “INCARNATION.”
The word incarnation comes from the Latin word carnus which means physical flesh. Moreover, when we talk about carnal/carnality, we’re referring to the physical character of the incarnation. On the other hand, when we talk about logos, it means that the Word became a human being or in other words, gave “skin” to God. Therefore, the God whom can’t be seen is given an image that we humans can finally see through the person of the Word who became man like us – through the person of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
In simpler terms, the Word was sown on a fertile womb of the Virgin Mary and with her “fiat” or “yes,” this Word became a human being like us except in sin – this Word is no other than baby Jesus, the ultimate reason for this season.
And if you’re going to ask the “why” of this mystery of incarnation, it all boils down to the four-letter word LOVE.
Read: John 3:16. “For God so LOVED the world, He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.” That’s how unconditional God’s love is for you and me. Out of His love, He sent His son. He allowed to Word to become flesh, to become human like us in everything except sin. And He sent His Son not just for the sake of sending Him here on earth, but for Him to die on the cross to save us from our sins so that we may have life in Him.
And this Christmas season, we celebrate the day when this Son of God made man was actually born. It’s like the opening salvo of God’s plan of salvation for all humanity. What is then up to us? What is up to us now is to make His birth an occasion for ACTIVE celebration and renewal of faith – that as He continues to be born in our hearts everyday (not just this Christmas season), may our hearts become the shelter of Baby Jesus alone just like the crib that once held Him in the past. May our hearts always house Him and everything about Him. May our hearts never stop believing that the God who made this mystery part of history in the past can make possible any mystery there is in our lives, how impossible it may seem. After all, when God allowed the Word to actually become Man, what is there left that He cannot possibly do? (Raine Eguico, YFL Full-time Worker)
