An Advent Meditation on the Incarnation

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ... From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. - John 1: 14, 16-18 (NRSVCE)

I have always found it appropriate that the start of the new liturgical year overlaps with the end of the secular year. There is something supremely fitting about the beginning and the end happening at the same time, as it reflects the cadence of life in everything meaningful:

Getting married, ordained, consecrated, or entering religious life ... a beginning overlapping with an end.

The same goes with parenthood.

And baptism.

And earthly death.

And Advent, actually. Not just because of its coincidence with December, but because Advent has a dual meaning.

Advent calls us to remember and make present, through our acts of worship, that singular event which took place in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago--when the flesh of God entered into the world, moving beyond the tabernacle of His mother's womb.
​
But Advent also asks us to repent, and to make straight the paths of Christ for His triumphant return.

Read More