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We all feel we know who Jesus is growing up Catholic, but our understanding of who He is grows the more you dive into Scripture.  One of the most important truths of our faith is the Incarnation - the fact that God came down from heaven and humbled himself and was born a man– "embodied in flesh."  That’s why John’s Gospel describes Jesus by saying, “And the Word became flesh” (John 1:14).  Sometimes we think of the Incarnation primarily as the 2nd person of the Trinity appearing human “like a hologram” but really is a divine being only.  Others see Jesus as a really wise human or philosopher adopted by God.  Both of these are false.  

The Incarnation means that the Word of God, his divine nature, unites himself with a full human nature, including a human mind and personality.  The Son of God fully entered every aspect of human experience including the relational experience of being a son, a grandson, a cousin, a friend, a student, and a worker.  It means he had the same experiences you have had.  He played games, had friends, had the same fears and joys.    This is the heart of the Gospel for if Jesus was not incarnated as a human, then he can’t die and save us from our sins.  We also cannot become his adopted sons and daughters.    

In Luke’s Gospel, we meet Mary.  She would have been between 13 and 15 years old -   the common age when girls were engaged and married (Luke 1:27).    She was engaged to Joseph from the House of David – meaning he was a descendant of King David. In Luke 1:28 – 38, Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel and told that she will have a son (Luke 1:28 – 38).  She asks, in Luke 1:34, how did this happen since I do not know a man?  The Angel replies, Luke 1:35, you will become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Will she accept God’s invitation to surrender to this plan though she can’t quite see how it will turn out? Her response, called her “fiat” in Latin – or “let it be done” in English, is Luke 1:38.  The most beautiful words in the Bible since without her Yes - Jesus would not have been born.

Mary’s obedience to God’s will is the model of Christian faith.   How will she convince Joseph that her pregnancy was the result of the Holy Spirit and not another man?  In her culture, had she been accused of adultery, she would have been stoned to death.  Can she trust herself to God or will she take matters into her own hands?  She risks her life and her life with Joseph and trusts in God.  

Joseph must trust Mary that her pregnancy is not the result of infidelity.  He is troubled by the news, as you would expect.  Matthew 1:18 – 24 describes Joseph as a righteous or just man, and that is shown by the fact that he does not expose Mary to shame and death.  Instead, he decides to divorce her quietly.  Then Joseph is visited by an angel in a dream confirming that the child in Mary’s womb is “of the Holy Spirit.”  He is told that the son to be born should be called Jesus - Hebrew name Yeshua.  Yeshua means “God is salvation.”  The angel tells him that indeed the child “will save the people from their sins.”  Joseph in an act of faith matches that of Mary and abandons his plans for divorce and accepts the responsibility of caring for Mary and her unborn child.  

We all know what happens next. Mary is close to giving birth and Caesar Augustus calls for a census and that required people to go to their hometowns to be counted.  Joseph’s family was from the Tribe of Judah and their ancestral home was in Bethlehem also called the City of David!  Bethlehem had been the home of King David the greatest King of the Kingdom of Israel.   They must have been greatly frustrated with the number of obstacles being thrown in their way.  Nazareth is in Galilee about a hundred-mile walk through the desert to Bethlehem.  Mary and Joseph found themselves having to make the journey, through the desert, at the most inconvenient time as Mary was nine months pregnant.  

The crowds were large in this tiny village, and no one wanted a woman about to give birth in their homes.  The blood from the birth would have made them “unclean,” so they had nowhere to go but the animal stable.  The king everyone has been waiting for is finally born – in a stable with animals, laid in a feeding trough for animals.   Not a place fit for a king!  The Angels then go to announce the good news – not to the Priests, or Herod, but the lowly of the lowly - the Shepherds!  The shepherds were terrified!  The angels announced the Good News that the savior was born in the City of David (Luke 2:10 – 12)!

We handed out lyrics and watched the choir sing Once in the City of David.  Beautiful and touching words about the birth of Jesus....I hope you can enjoy!

Have a great week!

Joyfully, Christina