Day 68: The Mystery of the Incarnation (475-483)

• This is Day 68!!

• We’ve been following this part of the Creed

• That is talking about what it is for JESUS to be Human and Divine

• OH MAN!!

• And so we talked about the Incarnation

• Why did the Word become flesh?

• Remember those four reasons a couple of days ago

• One, to save us by reconciling us with God

• Secondly, so that thus we might know God’s love

• Thirdly, to be our model of holiness

• Fourth, to make us partakers in the Divine Nature

• And so then we talked about the Incarnation

• This INCREDIBLE MYSTERY

• The central mystery is the Trinity

• Beyond that though

• Is the INCREDIBLE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION

• That God became one of us

• Jesus is a DIVINE PERSON

• The Second Person of the Trinity

• Divine person with TWO NATURES

• A Human Nature

• A Divine Nature

• We talked about that he didn’t ABSORB human nature

• That he ASSUMED human nature

• He wasn’t half God, and half man

• He was FULLY God and FULLY man in the Divine Person of the Second Person of the Trinity

• Jesus took on a TRULY HUMAN soul with the functions of intellect and will

• Operations of intellect and will

• His intellect had to grow

• But also as such

• All the way along, every moment of his life on earth the Son of God in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human hearts

• He had a truly human knowledge

• And at the same time

• This human soul, will, and intellect was UNITED to the divine intellect, and divine will

• Now we’ll talk about that today

• Only one paragraph when it comes to Christ’s human will

• That’s Paragraph 475

• And then we’re going to talk about Christ’s True Body

• We talked about yesterday, how in assuming our human nature, there is not one aspect of humanity and not one aspect of human life that Jesus didn’t enter in to

• He thought with the human mind

• He loved with the human heart

• He moved around with a human body

• But there’s two paragraphs here about Christ’s human body

• His true body

• That are relevant to us

• Not just in this,

• That in suffering, and loving, and dying, and rising from the dead in his body

• He’s redeemed that

• BUT ALSO…

• That because he had a human body

• We can actually PORTRAY the human face of Jesus

• We can PORTRAY the body of Christ in art

• In images

• IN FACT…

• There was a heresy back in the day called the Iconoclast Heresy

• That said, “No, you couldn’t have ANY images whatsoever!”

• And the Church really faced that really honestly

• And strenuously wrestled with this question

• Because in the Old Testament one of the great Commandments of God in the Ten Commandments is You shall have no graven image

• You shall worship no graven image

• What do we do when it comes to images of God?

• AND YET…

• The Church concluded that, BECAUSE the Word became flesh 

• And BECAUSE God assumed a true humanity, a body that was finite

• Therefore, the human face of Jesus can be portrayed

• And so that’s in the 700’s and thereabouts, is where the Church really wrestled with that and came to the conclusion that we can

• We actually can even VENERATE the image

• You can VENERATE the icon

• And in doing that, we’re venerating the PERSON of the one depicted

• So we’re not WORSHIPING the icon

• There was the Second Council of Nicaea that made that very, very clear

• We’re going to conclude with some MCNUGGETS

• But before the mcnuggets we’re going to look at The Heart of the Incarnate Word

• So we have three parts of Jesus

• Human will

• His true body

• His heart, The heart of the incarnate will

• But these three aspects of the human nature that the Second Person of the Trinity ASSUMED in becoming one of us

• His will

• His true body

• And His heart

• And there is this reflection in this last paragraph Paragraph 478 which says, “He has loved us all with a human heart.”

• Yes, the heart of the second person of the Trinity

• The Divine heart of God that just IS LOVE

• GOD IS LOVE!!

• Paragraph 478 continues, “For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation, ‘is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that…love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings’ without exception.”

• Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about how Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit

• And talk about the Annunciation and Mary’s role tomorrow

• BUT…

• Christ’s human will

• Christ’s true body

• The heart of the incarnate Word

• And this In Brief

• Before we do this, let us pray

• Let’s actually ask God the Father to be with us now

• OH MAN!!

• Here we go!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike:  “Father in heaven, I thank you. I thank you so much for every person who’s joined us, every person who pressed play today. This is their Day 68. This is our Day 68 together, whether this is the actual Day 68, or whether we’re struggling to press play every single day. Lord God, this is the day you want us to hear these words.This is the day that you want us to reflect on this truth. This is the day that you want to reveal to our minds the power of knowing you more deeply, so we can love you more truly. Help us to do both. Help us to follow you. Help us to belong to you. Help us to be yours, this day and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen”

• IT IS SO GOOD!!

• But since we already talked about Christ’s human will

• He doesn’t OPPOSE or RESIST the Father

• But rather SUBMITS to his Divine and Almighty will

• There is a little line here in Paragraph 475 that highlights this

• It says that Christ had two wills

• And two natural operations

• Divine and Human, right?

• Paragraph 475 says, “...Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They’re not opposed to each other, but cooperate in such a way that the Word made flesh willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy spirit for our salvation.”

• So think about what that means

• Well, it means many things

• One of the many things that it means is there are times when some people will say, “How evil, how wicked of the Father to give his son up to death.”

• That seems so cruel, seems so heartless, that the Father would be willing to sacrifice his Son

• Think about this

• Paragraph 475 continues, “He willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation.”

• So this is not the Father on his own sending the Son to die for the sins of humanity

• THIS IS THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT UNITED!!

• UNITED in this purpose

• UNITED in this mission

• That the Father is sending the Son, of course

• John 3:16, “He so loved the world that he gave his only Son.”

• But there is the Son who goes forth WILLINGLY

• Here is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit who decided divinely with each other for our salvation

• Again, so just keep that in mind

• THAT IS POWERFUL!!

• In his human will and his human intellect Christ SUBMITTED not only to his Father

• But to EVERYTHING that he had decided divinely with the Father, and the Holy Spirit for our salvation

• WHICH IS REMARKABLE!!

• INCREDIBLE!!

• We also talked about Christ’s true body, right?

• So that in assuming a true humanity, Christ’s body was finite

• Therefore, the human face of Jesus can be portrayed

• And in this last line here of Paragraph 477, “He has made the features of His human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted.”

• So look at an image

• A statue

• An Icon 

• Or a painting, of a Saint

• Or in this case, of Jesus

• If we were to light a candle in front of that kind of thing, we’re not worshiping the image

• We’re not bowing down before the image

• It’s venerating the icon

• Or venerating the image

• In OUR human bodies

• In OUR time

• To venerate in it the person of the one depicted

• We’re not worshiping a STATUE of Jesus

• Or we’re not worshiping an IMAGE, ICON, PAINTING of Jesus

• BUT… 

• It expresses a DEEPER AND MORE PROFOUND REALITY

• Have you ever done this?

• Maybe you have photograph of your child

• Or a photograph of your sweetheart

• Someone you have a lot of affection for

• And there might be times when you miss them

• You’re praying for them

• Maybe you just give that image a kiss

• Now, again, If you’ve never done that, you’d be like, "Wait, so weird.”

• It’s not weird

• It’s very normal

• You know you’re not kissing the person

• And you’re not saying as you’re kissing this photograph, as you’re kissing this image, “This is them.”

• IT IS A REMINDER!!

• It’s an expression of something in time, of the one your heart loves

• The one your heart longs for

• Similarly, that last paragraph, or last little section here

• Paragraph 478, about the heart of the Incarnate Word

• The one your heart longs for

• Paragraph 478 says, “Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony, and his Passion and gave himself up for each one of us.”

• Think about this

• Isn’t that incredible?

• Again, this MASSIVE MYSTERY of the Divine Intellect of God with the Human Intellect of God

• But Jesus KNEW and LOVED us each and all during his life, his agony, and his Passion

• “Without exception”

• That’s the last line of this paragraph

• His heart “is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that love with which the Divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father, and all human beIngs without exception.”

• YOU ARE NOT DISQUALIFIED!!

• God loves the Father, the Son of God

• JESUS CHRIST LOVES THE FATHER AND ALL HUMAN BEINGS WITHOUT EXCEPTION!!

• HE HAS LOVED US ALL WITH A HUMAN HEART!!

• And to think about this..

• He knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony, and his Passion

• And gave himself up for each one of us, that BEFORE WE EVEN CAME INTO BEING!!

• Jesus LOVED YOU as he walked this earth.

• Jesus LOVED YOU in his suffering, his agony

• Jesus LOVED YOU in the midst of his Passion

• And he gave himself up for YOU

• Galatians 2:20, “The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me.”

• Remember, Paul never met Jesus during Christ’s earthly life

• Paul did not encounter Jesus, that we know of, until his road to Damascus

• AND YET…

• Paul can say, “The Son of God loved me, and gave himself for me.”

• When we encounter this love, it becomes INTENSELY PERSONAL

• When we encounter this love, it is not something we just read about in a book, “Yeah God kinda sorta loves all of us.”

• NO!!

• St Paul was able to say, “Actually what he did in his passion, his agony, what he did on the cross, he did for me.”

• “Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony, and his passion and gave himself up for each one of us. He has loved us all with a human heart.”

• IT IS JUST INCREDIBLE!!

• The question, of course, is NOT whether or not God loves US

• HOW DO WE LOVE HIM BACK?

• BUT…

• The first question is, DOES HE HAVE PERMISSION TO LOVE YOU?

• HE ALREADY LOVES YOU!!

• Does he have YOUR permission that you LET HIM LOVE YOU TODAY

• DOES GOD HAVE PERMISSION TO LOVE YOU?

• HE HAS LOVED US ALL WITH A HUMAN HEART, WITHOUT EXCEPTION

• MAN!!

• THAT’S JUST INCREDIBLE!!

• Go pray with this

• And just ask, “Jesus, Help me. Help me to let you love me, because you have loved me. And you gave yourself up for me and for everyone listening. You love them and you have given yourself up for them. So Father, I pray for them right now. Jesus, I pray for them right now.”

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!