The Word Made Flesh

At Christmas, we celebrate our lives "in Christ"--our participation in the Reign of God that Jesus made manifest in our world. This is not only a one-time event in the past (the birth of Jesus and his kingdom 2000 years ago). This is something that began in the past, but that continues in the present (the birth of Jesus and his kingdom in our world today) and into the future (the birthing of God's kingdom at the end of time).

We hear from the pulpit and remind our children about these truths year by year. We call these teachings to mind every Advent season through our sacramental life, homilies and other spiritual preparation.

The birthing of Christ in past, present and future is how God's Word "makes its dwelling," its home, among us. The gospel of John begins with this very mystery:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God....

...

"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,

and we saw his glory,  the glory as of the Father's only Son

full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-5, 14 NABRE)

We can see, then, that another way to speak about Jesus is to call him the "Word of God."

But we also call the Bible the "Word of God"! So what's the connection?

Jesus is the Scripture made human, incarnate (literally, enfleshed). We use the same words "Word of God" to refer to both the Bible and to Jesus because we believe that everything God promised, everything the People of God hoped for in Old Testament times, is brought to completion in the person of Jesus of Nazareth--the Word made flesh.

This explains why the Church teaches that to understand Jesus, God's Word, we must come to know the Bible in its entirety--both Old and New Testament.

So I invite you this Christmas season to listen carefully to the Bible proclaimed at liturgy. Read and pray with the Scriptures daily. If this is a difficult practice for you, I hope you will look to your faith community to provide guidance. If your parish doesn't have a Bible Study, contact our archdiocesan Catholic Biblical School to direct you to a place where you can get a parish Bible Study. Or, consider becoming part of the Archdiocesan Catholic Biblical School. Look at how we operate by clicking here.

For, as Janine Baryza-Ly, CBS Class of 2014, puts it: "When we connect what is said within the Bible to our daily lives, the fullness of the Word comes into being" in us.

Merry, Merry Christmas. May your joy inspire you through all the feasts of the Twelve Days of Christmas: The Solemnity of the Nativity of Jesus; the Feasts of St. Stephen (12/26), the Holy Innocents and the Holy Family (12/28); and the Solemnities of The Mother of God (1/1/15) and Epiphany (1/4/15).