CONVERSATIONS of FAITH BLOG

Genesis and the Incarnation

The Mystery of Ourselves
by Tim Andries

Introduction

  1. It’s the year 2021 and not a few people have eagerly flipped the calendar past 2020. The last few years have been a rough ride. We have uncertainty, anxiety, a nation of people, even the church that seems to be divided against itself. So many problems with what seems like too few solutions.

  2. Now we’ve had this Covid thing. Oh good grief Charlie Brown!! If tomorrow brought the 10 plagues of Egypt or the zombie apocalypse, it wouldn’t surprise us. We may find ourselves wondering what we can do or if anything can be done.

  So now what?

 3. How do we find harmony or peace without going commando activist or just put up a 20’ brick wall and let the world burn itself down?  Where and how does my life story fit into all this?

  4. We want some kind of a connection in our lives, a sense of direction and purpose. We want to be heard.  Sometimes our lives feel like a computer trying to connect to the Internet, but the network is down. The computer is on, but no connection. 

  5. There are three events in Scripture I would like to focus on to put this disconnect and the process of reconnecting into perspective. They are creation, the fall of mankind in Genesis, and the Incarnation in first chapters of Matthew and Luke. Creation, the fall and the Incarnation are not isolated to distant history, they are a revelation of the ongoing work in progress in and for every person.

   6. This 3 part series is offered as a glimpse into this reconnection of ourselves and God, the ongoing process we call Redemption.  

Part One – God Creates Mankind

   7. What was the original harmony between God and mankind? Our creation in the image of God reveals our intended purpose and what the incarnation is to restore.  Genesis sets the stage for understanding our original state or existence, created in the image of God. A relationship in perfect communion with God, perfect in grace and in love. There was a certain harmony between God, mankind and creation. This sheds light on the purpose of the Incarnation of Christ and the redemption of mankind.

Part Two – The Fall of Mankind.   

   8. The next part, the Fall of Man in Genesis chapter 3 reveals the devastation of original sin. The focus is not a pessimistic one of guilt and shame, but a look at the trap the Devil used and still uses to wreak havoc in the lives of mankind. No, mankind is not evil by nature. While we are not guilty of Adam and Eve’s sin, our humanity is tainted by it. By disconnecting from our true source of good, we ended up stumbling in the dark without a sense of direction. Humanity needs to reconnect with God and with itself. But how do we? Showing the discord sown by the Evil One, I think we can better appreciate the depths of Divine Mercy that God will show us in part three.

Part Three – The Incarnation, God becomes Man

   9. This third and last section is the Incarnation of Christ or you could say the Christmas-event. The Christ-Messiah will come and reconcile man to God, removing the original judgment of death and restore humanity to its original state. It’s that process that we call salvation and redemption. God Himself will come to man as one of us, so that joined to Him we can be like Him.

   10. These three events give both comfort and understanding to questions we’ve all asked. What is wrong with the world? Why do people fail each other? Why is life so hard and complicated? What is the meaning and purpose of life? These are deep questions that neither you nor I have all the answers to. But while we don’t have ALL the answers, there IS an answer. 

Part One – God Creates Mankind

 “Let us make man in our own image and likeness” (Gen 1:26)

“In the beginning.”(Gen 1:1)

  1. In truth the story of creation and of mankind in the image of God, sets the stage for understanding our own human dignity and communal relationship with God.

  2. Gen chapters 1-2 give us some very basic truths that all of creation was created by God’s design and was created naturally good. The heavens and the earth, all created things, while created by God, were created for mankind. Mankind was given the responsibility of stewardship over the earth as a gift from his Maker.

  3. God created man in “Our image and likeness” (Gen 1:26).  Our image refers to the Holy Trinity. A simple way of explaining that is, God the Father created us in the image of God the Son with the life of God the Holy Spirit.

   4. So God the source of all goodness, created the world and mankind out of His loving kindness. As human beings, we are given a dignity greater than even the angels. Men and women were created for God and for each other. This new creation was to be the blueprint for the People of God, the Church and the human family. 

  5. In this original state of grace, God was fully alive man and man was alive in God.  Think of the computer mentioned in the introduction, we were completely connected. Mankind enjoyed a certain freedom, the use of the will to live and love God. 

   6. As God created out of loving kindness, so man responded with the same loving kindness. The heart, mind and soul worked or operated in union with each other. Just as the Trinity is a communion of Divine Persons, mankind had a share in that divine communion. The mind sought the truth and knowledge of its creator, the heart desired it’s only true love, the will wanted the good that came from the author of good. The soul found its very life from the sanctifying grace from God which the heart loved, the will desired, the mind sought and our Lord and Father freely gave. It was the union of the heart, mind and will of God with the heart, mind and will of mankind.

 7.  While that may sound like a lofty idea, it’s really a simple truth. The truth that we were all created good. Re-read that again, no matter what your circumstances today, God loves you and always will, without exception. 

What does this “state of grace” mean? 

  8. Sanctifying grace is a gift from God, it makes us holy like Him. If we think of grace as the very life of God, then Sanctifying grace is God Himself alive in your very soul. In this state of grace men and women find our only true and lasting happiness, everlasting union with God. In humanity, there was a certain peace that existed between not only mankind and God, but also among men and women and all of creation. This God within us is a very personal and intimate relationship. 

   9. Think sanctifying grace as the beatitudes, the virtues, gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and Sacraments on steroids. Each gift of grace feeds and strengthens the other. What we may have learned about them in Sunday school or catechism or from the Bible, they were not to remain simply religious doctrines.  It’s not simply a moral code of law to live by. Each is a description of our relationship with God Himself and through Him, with each other. 

  10. We received these gifts from our Creator to make us, not his servants or slaves, but his children. He is to us a Father and we are His children. His children would with this sanctifying grace know, love and serve God with the same love that He loves us.

   11. So there we have it, everyone on this earth, is created in God’s own image and are His children without exception. That’s what needs to be understood about ourselves and in our dealings with others. We are all created for and are capable of holiness. This sets the stage for what happens between parts 2 and 3 next and also gives a glimpse in the question of what salvation and redemption mean…… the Advent-event that took place 2000 years ago and His presence that continues today.

   12. To conclude, I leave a quote from St Irenaeus, “God dwells in man so that man can be accustomed to perceiving God and God becomes accustomed to dwelling in Man” (St Irenaeus, Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 53)

So why is this relationship hard to find today? Why are things or people so messed up?

(the answer in part two coming in February)

A Merry CHRISTmas Reflection by Tim Andries
 

I offer the following reflection not as a green hairy Grinch or Scrooge for that matter. I offer it as something I too have had to ask myself. We live in a culture that been secularized and to a certain degree commercialized. As brothers and sisters in Christ it is our baptismal mission to evangelize or announce the person and mission Jesus Christ. I offer the question, what has Christmas become and what is it really?

It’s the weekend after Thanksgiving and we’re still recovering and wondering what to do with all the leftovers. The colorful lights are going up on our homes with blow-up decorations in the yard. The tree is going up, the Nativity Scene is out ready to announce…IT’S CHRISTMAS !!

In a couple of weeks we’ll make plans for Ugly Sweater parties and family gatherings and the like. We’ll destroy any chance of a diet (again) and drink too much Egg Nog. With all the décor and the Christmas music, it’s easy to into the festive feel of the season. The closer we get to December 25 the excitement will ramp up and the anticipation will increase. Oh yeah I almost forgot…no one sleeps Christmas Eve night, right.

Television will be showing Christmas parades, Covid permitting of course. There will be Christmas movies galore, from the old animated classics (yes, we’re that old) to the Halmark love stories. They’ll be full of love and happiness, something needed especially during a raging and wild 2020. Understand that none of these things are necessarily bad, but the question remains.

What is Christmas and Where is He?

Where is Our Divine Lord among the empty boxes and wrapping paper on CHRISTmas morning? Where is he among the many gatherings and all the festivities that accompany the season? Where and how is He proclaimed in the songs and holiday movies? How do we or can we announce Him to our families or receive the “Advent” message ourselves?

Have we opened the greatest to humanity, a gift from God – the gift of Himself. We’ve also been given the Holy Family, Our Holy Mother and our Patriarch Saint Joseph.

Have we opened the greatest and most loving gift, our very redeemer and savior, God Himself, wrapped in the flesh of humanity. The poverty of his surroundings announce the Christ-Child in all humility, not in glory. The cold and darkness of the night represents death and darkness of the world due to original sin and separation from God. The shepherds come in from the pasture to see the Good Shepherd, THE Shepherd. It is us, his disciples that will be become the new flock.

The Advent star announces in the darkness of night, the Light of the World has come. The angels are heaven itself announcing the world, that God is faithful to his promises and his people. Saint Joseph and our Holy Mother are models of the new human family that responds with faith amidst trials and says yes Lord, your will be done. The Holy Family is also an example of the hope, that we also “Rise, take the child and his mother” (Matt 1:13) and announce him to our families, neighbors, to everyone.

His very name, proclaims his purpose and mission. Jesus or (Yehoshusua in Hebrew) means “Yahweh Saves”, Emmanuel literally means “God with us”. His birthplace is the Eucharistic promise that Our Lord will always be with us. Bethlehem in Hebrew means “house of bread”, the Christ-Child is the very bread of life and like the Wise Men and shepherds we too can come and adore Him.

Has Advent become simply a calendar or liturgical event? The word “advent” means the arrival of a noble person or event. From the story of creation to the rise and fall of Israel to the prophets, our human history has built up to this very “advent” event. The rest of our history will be written by the life of Christ, alive in the world today.

That in conclusion should be the heart and soul of every song, festivity, family gathering, decorations and all things that make the season….a CHRISTmas season.

The question and mission for me and you, for us is how do I take the Christmas-event that has been received and give that gift to others. Instead of focusing on what material things we have given or received, how can we offer the gift of Christ today? What gift can we give the lonely, those who struggle not just financially but also spiritually, to the poor and abandoned?

That gift, THE gift, is the living Jesus Christ, alive in our hearts and souls who wants to be shared with others. All we need do is look at our own families and neighbors or even ourselves. Where and how can I bring the Gospel message to those in most need? Our Lord does not and neither does the Church expect us to “save the world”, only He can do that. As baptized children of God we should ask Our Lord, “Where will you send me and what can I do today, in my own home in my own life?”

May the Lord be reborn in your hearts, may the announcement of the angels be heard in your voices and may you receive His peace. Lord, may those whom we encounter see a reflection of you in us, and let us also see and come to know you in our own hearts.