Incarnation is Fun

Years ago, I was home for Christmas and, since my family isn't Catholic, I headed off to the midnight mass alone: Holy Cross Church in Lafayette, LA, which at the time had an aging but wonderful pastor whose homilies were always as nourishing as fresh-baked bread dripping with real butter.

Alas, he was not the celebrant--some visiting priest was helping out, I suppose. It was standing room only, so I stood shoulder to shoulder with a few hundred others, enjoying the prelude of carols and the sight of candles and greenery everywhere. It was warm and comforting and inspired me to reflect on the Incarnation. Here it is, stretching out before me, the Incarnation is here in these folks packed in here waiting for mass to begin on a cold winter night. (Yes, it can get cold in Louisiana.)

The readings and the gospel were proclaimed and I was ready for a fine homily. But the priest... gave no homily. He stood there and laughed, and said, "Well, I know none of you really want to be here, I'm sure everybody just wants to get home so you can open presents, so we'll just move on now." Seriously. That's what he said. And we did. This was a failure to grasp the essence of the feast, to say the least.

One of our recent Gospel readings at daily mass was the genealogy of Jesus from Matthew. As I reflected on it in prayer, for some reason that incident returned to mind, and the subject of Incarnation has stayed with me day in and day out as Christmas approaches. I even re-visited the videoclip of the Simpsons "Catholic vs. Protestant Heaven." (As a former Protestant I must assert that the theology of incarnation is Christian, not just Catholic!)

A solid theology of Incarnation keeps us grounded, literally and figuratively. Holiness is organic, not pure otherworldly spirit. God was born in a weak human body in a barn that smelled of farm animals. Jesus is connected to us, one of us, located in our genealogy. A solid theology of Incarnation means that our starting point is not the sinfulness of the world, but the beauty of creation. It means Advent's Partner is Christmas, and Lent's Partner is Mardi Gras.

Google the Simpsons' clip on Catholic Heaven. I know, the material world is messy and painful and full of grief, but it is also so very beautiful. Incarnation is fun!