“Flesh” is a funny word. It can bring up connotations of food, or medical procedure, or nakedness — all carnal images we don’t necessarily want to go together. Even the word sounds creepy-crawly if you say it enough times! But that’s how God arrives, John tells us on Christmas Day: as “Word made flesh.” God embodies our full humanity, toenails to forehead, in order to fully take on our suffering and fulfill God’s promise of salvation for all people.
In Luke, we hear that God arrives in human birth — a rather fleshy experience, too. In the blood and muck, in the cries and pain, and in the precious and fragile body of a child. For all the beauty we seek in these days, God arrives to the places we would rather look away.
So say to your neighbor, Merry Fleshy Christmas! Because more than tinsel or lights, food or even (gasp!) music, the reason for the season is our God who isn’t afraid of our mess. And that is a reason to celebrate.
With you on the journey,
Liesl
Three Holy Days
In our tradition, we make space on Maundy Thursday to remember central parts of our faith story. We hear about the...
