There are many reasons that people celebrate Christmas. Even those who identify themselves as Christians often celebrate the day (never mind that it’s a twelve day season) for reasons other than the doctrine of the Incarnation. The Incarnation is the Christian belief that in Jesus God became a man. More recently, some of have referred to the Incarnation as the idea that God moved into our neighbor, quite literally, by becoming one of us.
There is a familiar story often told this time of year which seeks to explain the Incarnation. While familiar it is worth repeating. There was once a man who didn't believe in the incarnation or the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer.
One snowy Christmas eve she was taking the kids to the midnight mass at the local Episcopal church. She begged him to come, but he refused. He ridiculed the idea of the incarnation of Christ and after they left, the winds grew stronger (a familiar theme for those of us living in North Dakota) and the snow turned into a blizzard. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.
Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window... And, still another thump. He looked outside but could not see anything. So he ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese. They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but they had been caught in the snowstorm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, the barn would be a great place for them to stay. It is warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he opened the barn doors for them.
He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. Nevertheless, they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still did not catch on.
Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?"
He thought for a moment and realized that they just would not follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them. Then I could save them. They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."
At that moment he heard the bells ringing from the church just a couple of miles away, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them. Then, at last, he understood the Incarnation and fell on his knees in the snow - may you and I do the same.
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