The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Ernie Lagura SVD – University of San Carlos, Cebu City
December 25 – Christmas Day / Solemnity of the Lord’s Nativity
Art and Photo by Fr Treb Futol (Sorsogon)
Faith demands openness of heart and mind to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, coupled with honesty and humility. Why? Because there are things that we have to believe even if we do not fully understand. Faith is, in the final analysis, a grace and a gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith, like love, has a reason which even reason itself can not understand. Can anyone understand why the Divine Word decided to be incarnated? Why He allowed Himself to be scourged, crowned with thorns, and be nailed to the cross to die?
Reason seeks understanding. But even when something is beyond reason, faith remains reasonable. We have the testimony of Jesus Himself of the Father, “This is my beloved Son,” and of the first Christians that He is the Son of God, the Messiah who came down to earth and “pitched His tent among us.”
“And the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14 ). When the Son of God visited humankind, He appeared as a human being while remaining divine. In St. Paul’s kenotic theology, “though He was in the form of God, Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but he emptied Himself taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness” (Philippians 2:4-8). What a wonderful way of telling us that He loves us – He emptied Himself and appeared like a slave. See what love can do! Recognize what He did for love!
When we love somebody, we need to meet the other where he/she is at. Jesus gave us the example. He loves us, human beings, so He decided to encounter us by clothing Himself in human form. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). This can remind us of the need for inculturation in the task of evangelization and re-evangelization. Missionaries need to be inculturated just as Jesus was incarnated!
Love is a many splendored thing – and see what this Tremendous Lover (in the words of Eugene Boylan) did to tell us that He loves us! Following the example of Jesus, we should express and manifest our love for God and for others without counting the cost knowing that the only measure to love is to love without measure. God is Love. Merry Christmas!
