The Incarnation

Jesus is God’s beloved son, the firstborn from the dead. He is set apart, yet shares his Spirit generously. Through Jesus, we are children of God too, and have access to eternal life – life in God’s kingdom.

The most powerful aspect of the incarnation for me is how it shows God’s solidarity with humans. It comforts me to think of God as one of us—poor; suffering; subject to hunger and cold, fear and anger, even death. A song popular several years ago asks, “What if God was one of us?” My answer: God was (and is) one of us.

The church embodies Christ today. Communion is a reminder of this; we take into ourselves the body of Christ and in the process become one with each other and one in ministry to all the world. While the church embodies Christ, it is not perfect by any means. We hold in common the Spirit of God; it does not belong to a single individual, or a small group, or even exclusively to the church as an institution. Our goal as the church is to listen for and express that Spirit as faithfully and fully as we can.