The Word in the flesh

 The Word became flesh that we may find him in the flesh. 

As we approach the baby Jesus, his presence asks us to stretch our selves to touch his flesh in our ordinary life situations. Simeon was led by a promise, and found its completion in a simple family from Nazareth.

Just as the star guided the magi to the manger, the divine light in our hearts guide us to meet him in the other.

graced one of God

The time of waiting is over,
if we have seen a Christ-birth in us,

it is already a time to rejoice.
It is a moment of fulfilment.

the 'voice' in the wilderness,
is still a 'graced one of God' (John as the name means).
His naming opened dumbness, gave a praising voice.
The fruitfulness of the Gospel, the encounter with Christ,
the birthing of the Word,
first struck by the promise, led through a silence,
a voice in the wilderness, to songs of praises.

Gospel takes us to a period of silence, dumbness of a mystic,
what speaks is the Word, not a prophet.
nothing necessitates the presence of a prophet
except in cases when the Word is not received by sincere hearts.
The function of the prophet is "He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse."

​In the arms of the shepherd

We are preparing for the coming of Jesus. Actually, it is an attempt to experience Jesus a bit more closely. We want to see the baby Jesus lying in the manger, and love him. In loving him, we also experience his love for us. The incarnation is the gift to us where we find the meeting point of divine love for us and the human love for God.

One beautiful image we have in the Bible to express this experience is of a shepherd. A shepherd in the Bible is not a leader in the sense of administration. Instead, the shepherd images evoke the sense of care, embrace, love, security, and sacrifice. So, preparing for the coming of Jesus, today, invites us to experience the care, embrace, and the lifegiving nature of God as though in the arms of a shepherd.

The Gospel today spoke of the sheep that was found once again by the shepherd. There is consolation, comfort or healing of injuries happening, being in the shepherd’s care. We tend to fall down, but the Word, constant listening to the shepherd sustains our choice to live. Being close to the heart of the shepherd, we find being led to the source of life once again. There we find the baby lying in the womb of God.

Christ was born from mother Mary. Christ, as a baby, is not going to be born in us, but Christ will be born from us through the working of the Holy Spirit. The warmth of the shepherd’s bosom is not to put us in a sleepy stage, but to be awake and alive. There will be great rejoicing at our growth into the fullness of Christ little by little.

He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,

gathering lambs in his arms,

holding them against his breast

and leading to their rest the mother ewes.