Avery Dulles, the American theologian, once said: “The Incarnation does not provide us with a ladder by which to escape from the ambiguities of life and scale the heights of heaven. Rather, it enables us to burrow deep into the heart of our humanity and find it shimmering with divinity.”
So Christmas celebrates the incarnation, not just the nativity. The incarnation is an on-going process of salvation, while the nativity is the once-for-all-historical event of Bethlehem. We look back in joy and gratitude for the unspeakable gift of God's Beloved. As St Francis might put it - we rejoice that "the Lord of Glory has become our brother".
But Christmas is not simply a history lesson. Guided by the light of the Holy Spirit the community of faith grows in ever-deepening understanding of the implications of the Incarnation, of the historical fact that the Eternal Word has taken on our flesh.
In this blessed season we celebrate nothing less than the beginning of the transformation of all history and creation by the presence of the divine in our midst.
Wishing you a Christmas radiant with his light and grace.
