Psalm 22: 1 - 11
Isaiah 50: 4 – 9a
Philippians 2: 5 – 11
Matthew 26: 14 – 27: 66
A homily by: Fr. Gene Tucker
Given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, April 17, 2011
“SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE INCARNATION”
Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength….” (Mark 12: 30)Let’s enter this Holy Week by reflecting a little bit on the Incarnation. Put another way, what we are about to consider is the reality that Jesus Christ came among us to be one of us, to be fully human in every way. He took on our flesh and our humanity, to put it plainly.
You are I are incarnate beings. That is to say, we have bodies, minds, hearts and souls. Jesus addresses this reality in His command about how we are to love God, the one given above.
Put another way, we are a “package deal”: body, mind and spirit. The ancient Hebrews recognized the truth of our integrated being. By contrast, the ancient Greeks often separated the spiritual from the physical.
We cannot separate one aspect of our being from another. We cannot separate our physical reality or wellbeing from our spiritual or our mental wellbeing. What affects one area of our existence also affects others. Medical science has come to recognize the truth of this statement.
So what is beneficial in one area, also serves as a blessing in another area. This is one reason why we come to worship together on Sunday mornings, and at other times. We know that nourishing our souls can bring peace, comfort and strength with which to meet the challenges of everyday living as residents of the physical world in which we live.
Likewise, what is harmful in one area, also carries with it the potential for harm in other areas. An example of this would be the use of illicit drugs, which destroy the body, and which wear down our minds and our souls. Separation from God, whether real or perceived, can result. Often we call such physical acts “sin”. Sin is that spiritual condition in which we separate ourselves from God’s righteousness, and choose to go our own way, living our lives not according to God’s righteousness, but according to the desires of the mind and the body.
Recall with me that the account of the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden began with an appeal to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree which was in the center of the garden. A physical act followed (Eve, and then Adam, both ate of the fruit), and as a consequence, both were separated from God by their actions, and there were repercussions.
It is to deliver us from this condition that Jesus Christ came to be fully human, yet fully divine.
There are several reflections that we can make about Jesus Christ’s presence as the Incarnate One. In no particular order, here are some conclusions we can come to about Jesus Christ’s work and redeeming sacrifice on the Cross:
He demonstrates victory: Jesus Christ as Lord brings with Him a string of victories, most of them having to do with some physical aspect of His existence as a genuine human being.
Over temptation: For one thing, He defeats Satan when He is offered physical temptations. (See Matthew 4: 1 – 11.) Satan appeals to his hunger (notice how remarkably similar this temptation is to the one offered to Adam and Eve!), to physical comfort and safety, and to power. This repudiation of physical temptation marks the Lord’s first victory over sin and death.
By being a servant: Our Lord shows the servant-leader aspect of His ministry by submitting to John the Baptist’s baptism. (See Matthew 3: 13 – 17.) By physically going down into the water, Jesus demonstrates clearly that He has come not only as Lord, but in submission to the will of the Father. A little later on, Jesus girds Himself and washes the feet of His disciples on Maundy Thursday (see John 13: 1 – 20). By this physical act, the Lord takes up the role of a servant/slave to do a menial task reserved for the lowest rungs of society. By going to the Cross, the Lord descends to the lowest state that the ancient world knew, that of being crucified as a common criminal among two other common criminals. St. Paul acknowledges the reality of the depth of this descent into our human condition as we read his statement in Philippians 2: 6a – 7, saying “….(He) emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”
Through His mastery of the physical world: The purpose of Jesus’ miracles is to show His power over the created order. Certainly in John’s gospel account, this is the clear reason for the physical demonstration of power and authority that Jesus Christ possesses as we see the blind healed, the five loaves multiplied so that 5,000 can be fed, the storm is calmed, the lame walk, and the dead are raised to life again.
By conquering the greatest and final enemy, death: The Lord demonstrates His power over our greatest and final enemy, which is death. He does so by raising Jairus’ daughter (see Mark 5: 22 – 43), and by the raising of Lazarus (see John 11: 1 – 45, which we heard on Sunday, April 10th). Having demonstrated His power over death, He then rises from the grave on Easter Sunday, bringing with Him is full humanity intact. In the resurrection appearances which follow, the Lord shows that He remains fully human, with a physical body which can be touched (see Luke 24: 39 and John 20: 27), and which could eat food (see Luke 24: 41). It is with this physical body that the Lord ascends into heaven forty days after Easter, and with which He will return again in power and great glory.
It is to redeem us, to reclaim us, that Jesus Christ comes among us. In order to reclaim us, our Lord must assume our humanity to the full. The image that comes to mind here is that the Lord “gets in the trenches with us” in order to pull us up out of the trench. He does not stand on the top of the trench and show us the way out, as if we could accomplish that task ourselves.
By coming among us to fully embrace our humanity, yes, even to experience sorrow, loss, pain and rejection, the Lord Jesus Christ makes our humanity whole. By His physical suffering and death, He shows us the depth of His divine love. He shows us just how special we are in God’s estimation.
This understanding, that God cared enough for us to take the initiative to come among us as a real human being is one of the unique markers of the Christian faith. God has acted in the person of Jesus Christ, who comes, not as a disembodied spirit, but as a man. He shows us by deeds and actions that were seen by those who were eyewitnesses of the miraculous acts and deeds of power that He did that God was with Him.
We today are also eyewitnesses of the power of God to save and redeem us through the person and work of Jesus Christ. We witness changed lives as He takes up residence in our hearts, and lives are changed. Addictions are conquered, and new life begins. Old, destructive habits yield to the power of God, and are gone forever. Temptations are defeated, and lives begin to show the stamp of God’s likeness.
The Incarnation is forever!
Thanks be to God.
AMEN.
