The Transcendent Mystery Of Christ’s Nativity

Last updated on: December 25, 2022 at 3:04 am by Henry Karlson

The Transcendent Mystery Of Christ’s Nativity 2022-12-25T03:04:44-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Ted: Detail Of The Nativity of Christ / flickr

Christ is Born!

We have become so accustomed to hearing the story of Christ’s birth, telling it again and again, listening to it year after year, reflecting upon the same things over and over again, it almost feels as if there is nothing more to say. All its mystery has been taken away. That is because we come the story looking merely for facts which we can recite instead of trying to find a way to integrate ourselves into the story. To do that, we must go beyond the mere facts and open ourselves to the transcendent mystery which is being presented in it.

Most of us deal with the nativity of Christ in a matter of fact manner, whittling it down in such a way that it is stripped of all its grandeur. We have confused facts with truth, and so ignore the greater mysteries which are had by those who see after truth rather than facts. Indeed, we have betrayed the truth by trying to limit it to mere facts. This is not to say there is no value in discerning such facts and mentioning them. We will do so, especially when dealing with Christ’s birth. But they represent the most simplistic engagement and apprehension of it possible. We should engage facts, not as the end product of our apprehension, but as the starting point, looking to what they point to which lies beyond themselves and their recital. If we treat them in this fashion, we will be able to better engage the great mystery which reveals itself to us in Christ’s nativity. If we don’t, we will find the few facts which we have ascertained and memorized will not satisfy us spiritually; they will begin to appear more and more mundane, having little to no application to our lives, until at last, we find our spirit growing cold to the story of Christ’s birth.

Paul tells us Christ came at the right time in history. “But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-7 RSV). When we read these words, we can, if we want, distill several facts from them, such as Christ is the Son of God, Christ’s birth helps serve the salvation of those “under the law,” and that Christ was born at the right time in human history. But what does all of this means? Historically, when Christians explored these issues, they began to see that they should only be starting points to our realization of the radical, transcendent truth revealed to us in and through Jesus Christ.

What we have been given is the revelation of truth, the truth of the transcendent God, the God who is not only absolute one, but also Triune. No matter how we express it, the truth of the Trinity will always transcend our words, as it transcends our comprehension. Whatever facts we can and will discern will always be less than the truth itself. Behind every presentation of the Trinity is a greater mystery for us to approach, to experience, indeed, to engage. Our engagement with the truth should not have us stand back and merely present the same statements over and over again. Instead we should allow ourselves to be drawn in to the experience of the truth itself. The more we are drawn in, the more we will realize its transcendence, and find ourselves transfixed upon it with wonder. That will then have us open ourselves up even more to the truth, to receive in ourselves, as best we can, the glory which God is willing to share with us.

It’s not just the Trinity which presents to us a great mystery. Paul’s mention of the “law” raises many questions, showing that behind his words, lies another great mystery. What, then, is the law? Was Paul talking about the Law of Moses? But Christ came to save the whole world, and not just the people of Israel. The Law of Moses was for the people of Israel. Therefore, though there is a connection between the Law of Moses to the law mentioned by Paul, the law Paul referred to had to be seen as some universal law which, by itself, could and would encourage us to do good, but could not, of itself, bring us to salvation. But, it can be asked, if God is to redeem those who have been under the law, and could not be saved by the law, why was the law ever established? Christians have long been asking themselves this, and different Christians have come to different conclusions, but it seems none completely satisfy. It is as if we were taking on a hydra; every time we provide a solution, it is as if we cut off a head from the hydra, finding more questions, more heads, emerging as a result. And yet, if we try to just avoid the question, and say, we simply believe it is true, that does not satisfy either, and we find ourselves once again stuck in a rut, eventually finding our spirituality in decline.

Similarly, it can be asked, what exactly does it mean to say “the time had fully come.” Are we talking about the end of the world, so that the end of time had come? If so, why, then, does time seem to continue onward? Is it because the time, in question, is cosmic time, so that even a few thousand years is as nothing comparison to the billions which came before? Or does the incarnation take place in the middle of cosmic history, so that there is more or less equal time before the incarnation as after, suggesting there are billions of years of time left to come? Or is it all a reflection of human history and human time, so that the time of the incarnation takes place at the center of human history, not cosmic history? We really do not know, but the more Christians have reflected upon the meaning and timing of the incarnation, the more our preconceived notions prove to be false, leaving us wondering what exactly was the reason for God choosing when Christ was to be born. It is this which we should learn to accept, for then, once again, we will find ourselves embracing the wonder we need for us to be drawn in further to the transcendent truth.

Thus, what St Hilary of Poitiers tells us of the eternal begetting of the Son in the Trinity, can also be said to be true in regards the birth of Christ in history. “But, the birth of God is not to be judged according to the emanations of human births. Where one is born from one, and God is born from God, an earthly birth only hints at the meaning.” [1] We should look at all that is said, all that we apprehend, all the facts we can and do make up surrounding the birth of Christ, and look at them all as hinting at greater truths, greater realities. We should not try to comprehend the truth through human apprehensions, because all we will do is limit the truth and diminish the wonder which we should find when we realize it represents a transcendent mystery to us.

God assumed human nature and became the God-man, Jesus Christ. Through him, we can apprehend the divine nature for ourselves. We encounter the great mystery of God through the revelation of God given to us in and through the person of Jesus Christ. If we do not turn the incarnation, and with it, the birth of Christ, into just another historical narrative, into another mere fact among many, we will be able to get much out of the story of Christ’s birth. We must accept that everything shown to us and revealed to us in Christ points to greater and greater truths. We should apprehend the truth as much as we can, learn from it, and then, having grown from that apprehension, take what we know as a pointer to some greater truth, leading us to another, greater apprehension for us to experience and examine. This means, of course, we should be willing to ask questions, and give speculative answers, realizing, of course, the limitation, not only of our answers, but also in the way we can and do make our questions. What is important is for us to be open to the greater, transcendent truth. And this is something which we are called to do today as we reflect upon and experience the birth of Christ. If we don’t, we risk missing the point of Christmas; then we will turn it into just another annual celebration which ultimately means nothing to us and our lives.

[1] St. Hilary of Poitiers, The Trinity. Trans. Stephen McKenna, CSSR (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1954), 176.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

General Christian

Religious Events

History and Religion

incarnation

Jesus

Christmas

Feast of the Nativity

incarnation

Jesus

Mystery

Previous Post

December 23, 2022

Pride And Judgment

Next Post

December 27, 2022 Solovyov’s “Free Theocracy” Vs. Integralism

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz