Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Incarnation



In a bold attempt to find something positive in this dark and barbarous time, my mind goes to the Incarnation. Here's some Austin Farrer:

"We cannot understand Jesus as simply the God-who-was-man. We have left out an essential factor, the sonship. Jesus is not simply God manifest as man; he is the divine Son coming in manhood. What was expressed in human terms here below was not bare deity; it was divine sonship. God cannot live an identically godlike life in eternity and in a human story. But the divine Son can make an identical response to his Father, whether in the love of the blessed Trinity or in the fulfillment of an earthly ministry. All the conditions of action are different on the two levels; the filial response is one. Above, the appropriate response is a co-operation in sovereignty and an interchange of eternal joys. Then the Son gives back to the Father all that the Father is. Below, in the incarnate life, the appropriate response is an obedience to inspiration, a waiting for direction, an acceptance of suffering, a rectitude of choice, a resistance to temptation, a willingness to die. For such things are the stuff of our existence; and it was in this very stuff that Christ worked out the theme of heavenly sonship, proving himself on earth the very thing he was in heaven; that is, a continuous perfect act of filial love."

I like that, a lot.

LSP

2 comments:

Feed Room Five said...

Heads!I win!Tails!You lose! You cannot win this game: if you let immigrants in, then you let Islamic terrorists in; if you do not let them in, you are insulting the prophet,so they'll bomb you anyway. The folks who say 'we must let them in' (Catholic Bishops and Evangelicals) should be prepared to accept full responsibility for any consequent deaths. Bet they won't. Again a game you cannot win. You are mean and unChristian, if you oppose immigration; if you are in favor of immigration, you take no responsibility for the consequences. Don't play coin toss with these jokers.

LSP said...

Well said, FRF.