This is a meditation on the Incarnation that I wrote last Christmas for Give Us this Day, published by Liturgical Press. It is my Christmas card to all of you, the dear readers of this blog.
And the word became flesh.
What does that mean?
It means God in carnus, conceived in a woman,
implanted in a womb.
It means composed of the basic elements of the cosmos.
It means embedded within earth’s community of beings.
It means a unique DNA… and muscles, lipids, neurons, blood, bone.
It means a brain, lungs, a digestive tract, a beating heart.
It means being born of a woman, a mother, Mary.
And the Word became flesh.
It means the Divine became human,
The Eternal entered time,
The Omnipresent submitted to the confines of specific places.
The Beyond-the-Beyond, was now here, now now.
The Almighty became weak, vulnerable, helpless.
Sovereignty was transformed into lowliness.
The Thundering Voice on Sinai, now an infant’s whimper, now a piercing Waah!
The Self-Existent One, now a suckling at a mother’s breast.
The Always Was, now part of the ever-changing-is.
The Ancient of Days, a newborn.
The Invisible, now clear as day.
The Totally Other, now one of us.
The Transcendent One, Now Emmanuel,
God-with-us, God-for-us, God-among-us, Jesus.
Then and now. There and here. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
And what is our response to this event ungraspable?
A breathless, Wow!” Then, “O Come let us adore him!”
PS: I will not post a reflection next Monday, December 23. But I will post three Christmas songs for you. My next regular reflection will be posted December 30.
Our song is “Noel” by Chris Tomlin, featuring Lauren Daigle as the vocalist. This simple yet powerful song captures some of the amazement and wonder of the real meaning of Christmas.
If you care to respond to this reflection and/or song, please do so below. We all love hearing from you!
18 Responses
Sr. Melannie and everyone, hello —
Thank you, Sister, for your beautiful reflection, and for the song “Noel” whose verses are deeply affecting.
peace and light
TD
Good morning, all!
Sr. Melannie, your meditation on the five words — “and the word became flesh” — is beyond belief good! A meditation — a poem! — that we could read for a year, then another….and another.
A precious gift! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas to all!
PS: Hope the writing went well!
Dear John and all, The writing week went well! Thank you for your prayers! Melannie
God blesses me even (especially) with a sleepless night.
Thank you , dear Melannie. Last year’s words are today’s.
May you use any words that God sends you, ever.
Blesssings.
I used the words of Hildegard of Bingen on my card which seem to sum up your beautiful reflection, Melannie.
“What overwhelming joy that caused God to become a human being!”
Let us delight in God becoming one of us!
Good Morning to All,
“And the Word Became Flesh”….five simple, yet so deeply profound, words. Words to ponder and pray, especially as we enter these final days of Advent leading to Christmas morn. Thank you, Sister, for such a beautiful meditation; and for the accompanying music. Wishing you and all a holy Christmas. Peace and Blessings,
Ed J
“And the Word Became Flesh”, indeed. Such powerful images you have given us, Sr. Melannie. As I continue reflecting on your whole piece, it has come to me that we are called to follow Jesus and if that is the case then we are called to make our words become flesh. Hmmmm, our words to become flesh! That puts me in mind of the song from last week, “We become what we pray”…..do we?
For the remainder of this Advent, I am going to try to make this come to be.
I pray you all are able to take in the joy, wonder, and love of this season!
And the word became flesh and is living among us!
Mary
Another powerful song! Merry Christmas to all in the “Fraternity of Sister Melannie”!
Just want to sing ALLELUIA even in our world that has turned this LOVEMoment into a shopping frenzi because Jesus came just to enter our lives where we are and so again ALLELUIA Merry CHRISTMAS.
Blessings Sr Melanie
Every morning ‘Give us this Day is my start to my prayers, along w/ my
Rosary followed by Living Faith booklet where you occasionally also
write, You are a start to every day I’m Blessed to be here! Every Monday
look forward to You as well. Blessings to You and everyone for A
Beautiful Advent, and A 2020 filled with Good Health!
Char
Merry Christmas Sister Melanie! Thank you for your wonderful blog. I so look forward to each Monday. Beautiful choice of song!
Have a beautiful Christmas Season!
Shirley
John Hopkins said it perfectly…just what I was feeling.
Thank you! A sublime treasure.
Mary
Thank you so much for the song. Simple…..beautiful…..
Thank you, Sister. Lovely. Merry, Blessed Christmas.
I love the picture of the angel wrapped around St. . Joseph, our Blessed Mother and Baby Jesus. A Blessed Christmas to ALL!
Thanks, in Jesus, for your sharings & reflections. These are a tremendous blessing. I am so grateful.
What more can be said. For God so loved the world ,he gave his only son. To save us ,To love us.
Wow sister! So powerful and well said/written. Keep ’em coming! And yes, come let us adore him. Thanks so much for sharing your amazing writing skills, true sentiments and knowledge on so many topics I know little about. You’re the best and Merry Christmas!