The central claim of Christianity—still startling after two thousand years—is that God became human. The creator of the cosmos, who transcends any definition or concept, took to himself a nature like ours, becoming one of us. Christianity asserts that the infinite and the finite met, that the eternal and the temporal embraced, that the fashioner of the galaxies and planets became a baby too weak even to raise his head.
And to make the humor even more pointed, this incarnation of God was first made manifest not in Rome, Athens, or Babylon, not in a great cultural or political capital, but in Bethlehem of Judea, a tiny outpost in the corner of the Roman Empire.
One might laugh derisively at this joke—as many have over the centuries—but, as G.K. Chesterton observed, the heart of even the most skeptical person is changed simply for having heard this message. Christian believers up and down the years are those who have laughed with delight at this sacred joke and have never tired of hearing it repeated.
Bishop Robert Barron
And to make the humor even more pointed, this incarnation of God was first made manifest not in Rome, Athens, or Babylon, not in a great cultural or political capital, but in Bethlehem of Judea, a tiny outpost in the corner of the Roman Empire.
One might laugh derisively at this joke—as many have over the centuries—but, as G.K. Chesterton observed, the heart of even the most skeptical person is changed simply for having heard this message. Christian believers up and down the years are those who have laughed with delight at this sacred joke and have never tired of hearing it repeated.
Bishop Robert Barron
Evolution: God’s Love in Action
Franciscan sister and scientist Ilia Delio finds evidence for a benevolent universe in evolutionary change driven by love:
To say “God is love” is to say that the name God refers to the divine energy of love that is dynamic, relational, personal, and unitive. God does what God is—love. Rather than seeing God as a separate being over the world, we can say that love-energy is the stuff of existence. . . . Where there is energy of attraction, union, generativity, and life, there is God. . . .
God is the name of personal divine love emerging in evolution, as consciousness complexifies and persons unite: “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Evolution reveals a newness to God because love is always expressing itself in new patterns of relationships. . . . The dynamic fountain fullness of divine love means forever the newness of world; God is ever newness in love, and thus the world is ever new as well. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said that “you cannot step into the same river twice,” meaning change is inherent to life; every act bears an essential newness. . . . Divine love is not a river of stagnant water but a fountain fullness of overflowing love, love that is forever awakening to new life. [1]
Delio seeks to reconcile a good and loving God with the ever-present suffering in the world:
There is no doubt that suffering and violence abound in the crevices of life, but suffering is not a punishment of a vengeful God. God does not abandon us; we abandon God by . . . running after little gods. God lives deep within us, as the center of love, but we are often [dismissive of] this inner center and drawn by the little gods of power, success, status, and wealth, everything we create for ourselves. . . . The theodicy question is not why God allows bad things to happen to good people but why we abandon God in the face of suffering. If God is love, then our only real hope is in God, because hope is the openness of love to infinite possibilities and new life. . . . This God of love appears in Jesus of Nazareth, a God who gets radically involved in the messiness of the world to be God for us. . . .
To have faith in a God of unconditional love is to realize how intimately close God is. So close we forget God’s presence. In his own day Jesus was immersed in a violent culture, a culture of conflict and anxiety. But he also knew of the deeper truth hidden beneath the surface of human judgment, namely that this broken, anxious world is oozing with God. He asked us to have faith, to believe that the reign of God is among us and within us. [2]
Father Richard Rohr
Life trumps religion. Life and existence in this universe are 13.7 billion years old and religions are 5,000 years old or 100,000 years old when you include the oldest which are the shamanistic and the indigenous. But the point is that, why would we be driven to put religion before life?
... Matthew Fox reflects on the themes of deep ecumenism as archetypal myths, “foundations of values and ethics.”
And then, of course, go to war with other religions—take life, destroy life, in their name? So hopefully this is one element of human evolution of consciousness that is shaking down at this time. Many people are rejecting the notion that my God beats up on your God or Goddess.
In my book on Deep Ecumenism, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faith Traditions, I celebrate instead of rue the diversity of our traditions—but also their common unity. I offer 18 themes and issues and myths that are common to all our world religions. Among them are diverse names for Divinity; meditation; sacredness of creation; compassion; spiritual warriorhood; creativity and imagination as a gift from God; and much more.
For example, on the importance of joy and work. Consider these teachings:
In work, do what you enjoy. (Tao te Ching)
They all attain perfection when they find joy in their work. (Bhagavad Gita)
Always rejoice in the good work that you do. (Thomas Aquinas)
Flash Mob – Ode an die Freude ( Ode to Joy ) Symphony No.9. Beethoven’s last symphony, written despite depression and impending death as a hymn to freedom and joy for all people, is now the anthem of the European Union.
Mathew Fox and Busco
2 CWL members, Sharon Dugard and Anne Wolkenstein, and honorary member Mr. Claus working at Beausejour Christmas Craft Sale to raise money for Open Doorways.
In Jesus Christ, the child born at Bethlehem, God has spoken definitively to all of us and all creation. God's word is: “You are loved deeply by the God of all love and mercy.” In these days of family reunions and prayer, let us receive all that the God of love wishes to offer us: HOPE, PEACE, and FORGIVENESS.
Wishing you and your families a Very Merry Christmas!
Anne