[stephenkhoo]

THE INCARNATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PASCHAL MYSTERY PROCLAIMS THE SAVING WORK OF CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISA 7:10-14; 8-10; HEB 10:4-10; LK 1:26-38
http://www.universalis.com/20140325/mass.htm

The feast of the Incarnation is truly one of the most important feasts of the Christian Faith. How should we approach this celebration, considering that we are in the season of Lent? It is important to take note that this feast is also closely connected with the feast of Christmas. Whereas we celebrate Christmas in a joyful manner, the feast of the Incarnation seems to be celebrated in a low-key manner when it is in fact truly a very important feast. That the feast of the Incarnation is invariably celebrated during the season of Lent, should invite us to focus this celebration of the Incarnation in the context of the paschal mystery. These two feasts celebrate our salvation wrought by God. What then is the relationship between the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery? Can we derive spiritual benefits from today’s celebration by recognizing the link between these two feasts?


The Incarnation is the basis, the presupposition, for the passion and the resurrection. Without the incarnation, we cannot speak of Jesus offering His body for the salvation of the world. Without the Incarnation, we cannot speak of His death, which is a prerequisite for the resurrection of the body. Thus, the annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the deepest mystery of the relationship between God and man.


In many ways, the Incarnation is in essence what the Paschal mystery is all about. It is by far the most important event in the history of mankind, for it is the beginning of salvation. Christmas and the Paschal Mystery are but the historical working out of the full implication of the Incarnation. Through the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery, God became man, and remains forever with us, identified with our humanity and raising us up to share in His divine life. Such is the extent of His goodness and mercy and love for all of us. How is this so?


In the Incarnation, we remember the self-emptying of God at the cross. Firstly, He emptied Himself of His divinity to share in our humanity. But as if this was not sufficient, He emptied Himself once again on the cross. The Incarnation is the great act of God surrendering Himself to the world by assuming our humanity. The self-emptying of Christ in humility therefore is the reversal of the pride of Adam who wanted to be like God. Instead, God shows His humility by choosing to be one of us instead. Indeed, the Second Person of the Trinity emptied Himself twice in saving us.


Secondly, both the Incarnation and the Passion of Christ center on the theme of obedience. It is obedience that truly brought about our salvation. It is the reversal of disobedience through which Adam brought sin into the world. Ahaz, like Adam, was disobedient and did not trust God. Jesus however was obedient unto death. Jesus saved us by doing the will of God when He said, “You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin; then you said, just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book, “God here I am! I am coming to obey your will”.


Thirdly, there is the motif of assumption of the flesh, of our humanity. In the Incarnation, God assumed our body in order to surrender the same body to death. The true sacrifice of Jesus is His self-offering; not just any sacrifice. But by so doing, this same body is destined to rise again. So in a real way, Jesus assumed the human body in order to divinize it through His resurrection. In this way, salvation is achieved in a human way. Salvation is salvation of the whole man.


These three themes are summed up in the word “faithfulness”. What is fidelity? Firstly to obey God is to be faithful to our identity. For Jesus, His obedience reflected His sonship, which was the expression of the Father. It was His self-emptying in humility and love that revealed His true identity as son. If He were not obedient even unto death, then He would not have been faithful to His sonship, since He would not have been the expression of His Father.


Secondly, to be faithful is to be consistent. Consistency requires us to be who we are and live according to what we believe. To have a disparity between what we believe and how we live would mean the lack of fidelity. For Jesus, His word and His life were identical. Who Jesus was as the Word of God, was made flesh in His own life. Hence, He was the Word of God in person for He lived as He taught.


Thirdly, fidelity is constancy. It is not difficult to be faithful to our calling for a few months or a year. But to be faithful to our calling throughout our life is very difficult. Again, it is easy to be faithful in moments of enthusiasm and success, but difficult in the hour of trial. Only a consistency that lasts throughout one’s life can be called faithfulness. Indeed, Mary’s ‘fiat’ in the Annunciation found its fullness in the silent ‘fiat’ that she repeated at the foot of the Cross. So too was that of Jesus. His faith at the Incarnation was spelt out at the cross as well. His whole life was a fait (“thy will be done”) to His Father at the Incarnation, in His ministry, in moments of temptation, at the garden of Gethsemane and at the cross.

However, if we were to live such a life of fidelity, we must first find out our vocation and calling. This was the way of Mary and that of Jesus. Faithfulness requires us to search for our identity. One must begin the path of discernment. Indeed, the fidelity of Mary lay in the fact that she began by searching the will of God. She asked the angel, “How shall this be?” We must come to understand our real vocation and calling in life.


From reception, one must then move on to acceptance. From “how can this be?”, Mary’s response was a ‘fiat’: “Let it be done, I am ready, I accept.” And this acceptance was not based on human logic or rationalization. It was based on the Word of God and His promise. On this basis, the Word could then become flesh. Faithfulness therefore requires faith even when we can never understand how God could carry out His plan. In other words, acceptance requires faith in the way God chooses to work in our life. Faithfulness presumes faith in the divine plan of God.



Today, we have the example of Mary cooperating with the salvific work of Christ. Mary is the exemplar of faith and cooperation. She consented to the Word of God and became the mother of God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers of the Church see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man’s salvation through faith and obedience. Today, we are called to have faith in Jesus so that we can be the sacrament of His presence in the world.