Real Life Disciples: Incarnational power

Back in 2003, President George W. Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad during the war in Iraq. It was all the news that year on Thanksgiving Day, especially since everyone expected him to be home with his family. The visit was conducted under incredible security. Even his wife and parents were not told in advance, and all the news channels reported that he was spending the holiday with his family at their home in Crawford, Texas. But, then the president just showed up, walking out of the back kitchen in an airplane hangar with a platter of food to serve soldiers a meal. The soldiers were astonished as was the rest of the world when it broke on the evening news.
 
Imagine the enormous secrecy you would have to use to get the president to the other side of the world without anyone knowing, and into a country with which we were currently in conflict. There were daily attacks happening on coalition forces, and most of the deaths were from surface to air missiles being shot at helicopters and airplanes. The trip was clearly not without peril. The whole event went down in history as one of the greatest covert operations ever, and perfectly executed.
 
I would argue, though, that it may not be the greatest covert operation. What we are about to celebrate in just a couple days with Christmas would get my vote.
 
Think of the immense coordination to get the son of God into the world, as a human being, despite great attempts by the enemy to stop him. There’s obvious divine intervention, but at a certain point it’s placed in the hands of humans with great peril at stake. Joseph and Mary, fleeing Bethlehem while Herod and his soldiers are murdering all the male children under age 2. Have you ever wondered why God would come this way? And, to entrust the safety of his whole plan into the hands of human beings?
 
The Catechism gives us four reasons for this great mystery of the Incarnation (see paragraphs 457-460). The first three are somewhat familiar: to save us and reconcile us to God, so that we could know God’s love, and to be a model of holiness for us. But, the fourth reason is a jaw-dropper. I find that most Catholics not only are not familiar with it, many have even argued with me that there’s no way we actually could believe that. Listen to these powerful words:
 
“The Word became flesh to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature:’ ‘For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.’ ‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.’ ‘The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.’”  (CCC, #460)
 
What?! We’re supposed to become God?! The answer is simply “yes,” that’s exactly what God’s plan was all along. His passionate desire is for us to be one with Him for all eternity. Talk about a covert operation!
This plan is the DNA of discipleship. The call to discipleship, for each and every one of us, is ultimately about conforming our lives to his – allowing his incarnation to literally transform us and change us into him.
 
And, the most beautiful thing about the mystery of the incarnation is that it doesn’t depend on us. It depends on him! We can’t make ourselves God, we can’t make ourselves holy. It’s going to be God who does that. We must cooperate with his action.
 
But, in the end, it really does depend on him and his transforming power at work in our lives. This is one of the reasons why many spiritual writers say that the greatest pursuit of the spiritual life is receptivity. If transformation and change depend on him, then our primary focus better be on getting as much as we can of what he is offering!
 
The other beautiful reality is the poverty of circumstances into which the savior was born. A helpless infant, born in a barn, laid to rest in a dirty feeding trough (the word manger makes it sound a little too nice I think for what it really was). I grew up on the farm and know how dirty a barn can be. There’s no regular dusting and vacuuming in the barn – the place was filthy!
 
But, this is what is so encouraging for us – Christ desires the poverty! He is drawn to our weakness. He loves our inadequacies and imperfections. It doesn’t make sense on a human level, but it’s just true. If you are desiring to be a disciple, if you want to say “yes” to the invitation of Christ to “come follow me,” this is really, really good news.
 
No matter what weaknesses or human imperfections you have, he still wants you! And, even more, the transforming power of his incarnation will come to bare to help you change and become more and more like him. He’s not afraid of anything in us or about us.
 
Let the full force of this hit you this Christmas. Take time to let the Lord enter into all your humanness, and even poverty. Let your heart be the stable, and the very center of your heart the manger. Rest there and allow the powerful love of the incarnate word to come more alive for you!
 
Merry Christmas!