God, as it were, “took a risk”—all lovers do. God became one of us; and so risked rejection, indifference, incomprehension, even hostility. God became one of us so that we might become one-with-God.
If we really understood what that meant nothing else would matter. If we really believed it, everything would forever be changed. There would be no fear of death; no fear of sickness; no fear of pain and suffering and injustice and meaninglessness.
God the Word—the Divine Meaning—became human to give humanity its true and only real meaning. Unless that Word becomes flesh in our flesh, unless the divine meaning of human being becomes a reality in us, what happened two thousand years ago in Bethlehem will be meaningless. Christmas is not about what happened a long, long time ago in a place far, far away. Christmas is about what is happening now, here, in us.
May God’s risk pay off! And may we take the same risk …
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