The Breath of God

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

And the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us,

and we saw his glory.

Continuing our reflections on the Mystery of the Incarnation - this text from the prologue of John's gospel begins the gospel reading for the Mass of Christmas Day. The words "... became flesh ..." is the part of Christmas that is available for all to see - a human baby, newly born, wrapped in a blanket. But the words "... and we saw his glory ..." this is not everyone's experience. Despite the discussion today over the exact historicity of the gospel accounts of the nativity, Jesus the man, the human person like us, born in time, remains excepted with confidence.  Seeing the divinity that Jesus shares with the Father and the Spirit is a different matter. And equally challenging is comprehending the suggestion that we too are meant to share in this same divinity. The opening prayer for the Mass of Christmas Day prays:

O God, who wonderfully created

the dignity of human nature

and still more wonderfully restored it,

grant, we pray

that we may share in the divinity of Christ,

who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

 To prepare our selves to make this prayer with a deeper appreciation and understanding of the mystery it celebrates, is the focus of these Advent devotions.

I saw a video news report of a person who had suddenly collapsed at a public event and appeared to have died. Then someone from the crowd rush in, placed their mouth over the stricken person's mouth and began breathing into the person their own breath. Shortly after beginning this action, the stricken person began breathing again on their own. We know this action as resuscitation intervention; the how to, being something we all should be familiar with for such emergencies.

Now, the image of a living person breathing their breath into a lifeless person is an intriguing one for our reflection here. The Living God, as opposed to the gods of wood and stone, is filled with the Breath of God, the Spirit. The Word, who is also with God, is filled with this Breath of God, and in time and history, is breathed into a human body, giving it not only human life but divine life as well, and given the human name, Jesus - Son of God - the Incarnation.

As wholly inadequate as this humble description of the incarnation is, we have a hint of what it must mean to share in the divinity of Christ. Jesus, with his Breath of God, now breaths new life into our spirits, giving them a share in his divine life. The gift of GRACE.

The Grace of Advent and Christmas, that we are seeking, is the renewal of the Breath of God within us; to revive our sagging and breathless souls with the Grace that flows from the Incarnation of Christ.

For he assumed at his first coming

the lowliness of human flesh,

and so fulfilled the design you formed long ago,

and opened for us the way to eternal salvation,

that, when he comes again in glory and majesty

and all is at last made manifest,

we who watch for that day

may inherit the great promise

in which now we dare to hope.

First preface for Advent