Second Sunday of Christmastide

 Christ reconciled us

   in his fleshly body. (Colossians 1:22) 

When did the Eternal Word become temporal flesh and dwell among us? And, how did it happen that God the Son became a man?  It’s easier to believe it happened when Jesus began his ministry of “teaching …and healing those who suffered” (Mt 4:23-24). That’s Emmanuel. That’s the Epiphany. But the church, affirming Matthew’s and Luke’s stories about the virgin Mary and her baby in a manger, set Christmas as the “when” and the “how” of the incarnation. That’s when the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us …full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14-15).

One of those fourth century church fathers, Gregory the Theologian, said it best: “That which Christ has not assumed he has not healed, but whatever is united with his divinity has been saved.” It is the church’s way of saying that the Eternal Son of God has taken on the whole of Jesus’ humanity from the wooden manger to the wooden cross, from the womb to ascension. Which means for us, 1) that we look at every baby—even every woman with child, with wonder; and 2) that we look on the whole of our own fleshly body as redeemed by the “fleshly body of Christ.”  That’s why the creeds affirm our bodily resurrection—the whole of us salvaged for eternity.

In a few days we enter the Season of Epiphany when we celebrate how Jesus “went about doing good” (Ac 10:38). But for now, let us depart Christmastide with a benediction from Romans 9 verse 5:

To the people of Israel belong the patriarchs,

                and from them, according to the flesh,

comes the Messiah, who is over all,

                God blessed forever. Amen.

It is best we leave the mystery and wonder of our Christmas celebrations with an “Amen!”