Glory to God in the Highest

 

Into the ancient holy land
Behold, the son of God is come to man.

Hoc est enim corpus meam.

In Innocence fall all heroes and their creeds;
An age is done, an age from here proceeds.

Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei,
Novi et aeterni testamenti.

What consuming pagan fires could not do—
A covenant of love, and Word made flesh, in You.

Qui pro nobis et pro multis effundetor;
In remissionem peccatorum.

Sleep swells His breast, though heavy pressed,
By Golgotha, and Adam's sin,
And the hopes of he who signs his name herein.

Jesse

"What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:3-5

"And the Word became flesh
   and dwelt among us,
   and we saw his glory,
   the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
   full of grace and truth."

John 1:14

"He became what we are, so that we might become what He is."

Athanasius

What a wonderful condescension and extravagance we have from God.   For although we were made and formed in His image, He has thereafter sanctified that image, and confirmed us as His creation, in the Incarnation.

"In the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Thereafter, any attack, even on the least of men, is an attack on Christ, who took on the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all. Through our relationship with the Incarnation, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and recover our solidarity with all mankind."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Christmas Day - the Implications of the Incarnation

 

"There were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.   The angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. 

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy for all people.  Today in the city of David a savior has been born for you, who is Messiah and Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace toward men of good will." 

Luke 2:8-14

“Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous.  And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly. 

God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in.  He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them.   God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.

In the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Thereafter, any attack, even on the least of men, is an attack on Christ, who took on the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all. 

Through our relationship with the Incarnation, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and recover our solidarity with all mankind."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Exiled from the earth, our Lord is born under the earth, for the stable was in a cave, and there he shook the earth to its very foundations.  Because he’s born in a cave, all who wish to see him must be bend, must stoop, the stoop is the mark of humility. 

The proud refuse to stoop. Therefore they miss divinity.  Those, however, who are willing to risk bending their egos to go into that cave, find that they are not in a cave at all; but they are in a universe where sits a babe on his mother’s lap, the babe who made the world.” 

Fulton Sheen

 

“We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.  We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.  We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.  We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.  We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, 'Come Lord Jesus!'  The Lord is coming, always coming.  When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life.  Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.” 

Henri Nouwen

 

"He became what we are, that he might make us what he is."

Athanasius of Alexandria

 "Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility;  So that, at the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal."

Book of Common Prayer

 

From all of us here, the young man, Daisy, and le vieux propriétaire, may the blessings of almighty God, descend upon you, and remain with you forever.

Joyeux noël, mes amis.

 

Humility Saves Us From Foolishness

“As long as you are proud you cannot know God.  A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you...

True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself, less."

C. S. Lewis


"Further, all of us should be kind and helpful to one another, and carry ourselves with humility: for God is set against the proud, but graciously favours the humble."

1 Peter 5:5


And how did little Tim behave?" asked Mrs. Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity, and Bob had hugged his daughter to his heart's content.

"As good as gold," said Bob, "and better.  Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard.  He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see."

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol


"It seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances.  The fact that the foolish person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent.

In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him.  He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being.

Having thus become a mindless tool, the foolish person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings...

Only the humble believe in Him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that He does wonders where people despair, that He takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly.

God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; He loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken...

In the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Thereafter, any attack even on the least of men is an attack on Christ, who took on the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all.

Through our relationship with the Incarnation, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and recover our solidarity with all mankind."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer


"And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness.  If you want to be important—wonderful.  If you want to be recognized—wonderful.  If you want to be great—wonderful.  But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

That's a new definition of greatness.  And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve."

Martin Luther King, The Drum Major Instinct