Dear Students & Teachers, 25/12/2024
Just a couple of days to go before we will celebrate the great feast of Christmas – the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the celebrative mood sets in, we may tend to ask about the why of the Incarnation. Why would God want to take on human flesh? Why would an infinite power want to limit itself within the confines of history and a human body? Why Incarnation?
There is a marvellous story told about a little child who awoke one night frightened, convinced that in the darkness around her there were all kinds of spooks and monsters. Alone, frightened, she ran to her parents’ bedroom. Her mother calmed her down and, taking her by the hand, led her back to her own room where she put on a light and reassured the child with these words: You needn’t be afraid, you are not alone here. God is in the room with you. The child replied: I know that God is here, but I need someone in this room who has some skin!
In essence, that story gives us the reason for the Incarnation, as well as an excellent definition of it. God takes on flesh because, like this little girl, we all need someone with us who has some skin. We believe in what we can touch, see, hear, smell, and taste. We are not angels, without bodies, but created beings with five senses and we are present in the world through those senses. We know & communicate through them, are open to each other & the world only through them. And God, having created our nature, respects how it operates. Thus, God deals with us through our senses. In the Incarnation, God became physical because we are creatures of the senses who, at a point, need a God with some skin.
You know what? The Incarnation began with Jesus and it has never stopped. God is still present and His incarnational presence among us continues as before.
That is why the Church teaches us that the Word became flesh and continues to dwell among us.
For example, in the body of believers God still has physical skin and can still be physically seen, touched, smelled, heard, and tasted. If it is true that we are the body of Christ, and it is, then God’s presence in the world today depends very much upon us. We have to keep God present in the world in the same way as Jesus did. We have to become, as Teresa of Avila so simply put it, God’s physical hands, feet, mouthpiece, and heart in this world. This requires more love & care as how we relate to God and to each other, how we pray, how we look for healing and reconciliation, how we seek guidance, and how we understand people, religious experience and service.
So, let our understanding and celebration of the Incarnation make us love God more deeply, our brethren more dearly and serve the society more generously.
On behalf of the Salesian Community, let me wish you all:
“A Very Blessed Christmas & A Grace-filled Year 2025!”
Fr. D.J. Sagayaraj.
Rector.