Oh, blessed joy! Oh, what gracious gift! What marvelous Mystery! That the Infinite would become finite. That He Who was from Eternity would enter into Time. That He Who dwelt on High would come down, and dwell in that which was low. That God would become Man.
Can any mind truly comprehend this act? Can any person truly penetrate this Truth? From the Fall of Man, God promised salvation to the World- to all who believed. And, time and time again He redeemed His people- saving them from certain destruction. And yet, time and time sin would rear its ugly head. The great foe Satan, ever wishing to maintain his dominion over the world, presented temptation after temptation to man. And man, being utterly depraved, ate out of the Serpent's hand.
But lo, it was not to be this way forever. God is a jealous lover- He desires that all might come unto Him. And He is ever merciful- forgiving those whom come to Him for it. He is Supreme- for He is the Creator, and desires that His Creation be wrested from corruption.
Thus, in the fullness of time, God the Father sent His only-begotten Son into the World. Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, "the Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us". In this singular act, the world was forever changed. The cosmos was turned upside down. And the battle between God and Satan was all but won.
The Son of God came as Immanuel, "God with us". The LORD, whom had always intervened to save His people, now intervened in the greatest way- He came and dwelt among His people. And His Name was Jesus, "for He shall save them from their sins". David's son and David's Lord had come, that all might become sons of Israel, and all might enter the Kingdom of God.
In this act, the Incarnation, God in Christ began reconciling the world unto Him. For Christ, the Agnus Dei, came that He might offer Himself up as a sacrifice for sin, that by His blood we might be made righteous. And important as that is, there is more. In taking up flesh, and rising in the flesh, Christ became the first-born of the New Humanity. Just as in Adam all fell, in Christ all rise. His Resurrection is the vindication of His being the Messiah, and a promise of our resurrection. And His Ascention, in the flesh, exalts humanity.
None can fully delve the depths of the Incarnation. For it part of the Mystery of the Faith. Only in and with faith can one even believe in the Incarnation. However, I think an appropriate way to summarize it (and to end this post) would be the Second Article of the Nicene Creed:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by Whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.
