Why the Incarnation Matters

December 14, 2010 by Patheos Team

Photo: Martin Beek, Flickr "O come, O come, Emmanuel . . ." On Christmas morning, Christians all around the globe celebrate God's love coming into the world in the person of Jesus Christ. What does it mean for us that God chose to enter the world in flesh and blood -- incarnate -- through a poor baby in Bethlehem? We invited a dozen theobloggers to consider the question: "Why Does the Incarnation Matter?" And we asked them, as usual, to do it in 100 words or less. Their responses are below.

Our responders:

Kara Root, Pastor of Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, MN
Frederick Schmidt, Episcopal Priest and Spirituality Professor at Perkins School of Theology
Amy Julia Becker, author and blogger at Thin Places

Monica A. Coleman, Associate Professor of Constructive Theology and African American Religions at Claremont School of Theology
Carl Gregg, Pastor of Broadview Church in Chesapeake Beach, MD
Anne S. Howard, Executive Director of The Beatitudes Society
Jenee Woodard, author of The Text This Week
Elaine Heath, Associate Professor of Evangelism at Southern Methodist University
Ruth Everhart, Presbyterian minister and blogger at Work-In-Progress
Sam Alexander, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in San Rafael, CA
Lisa M. Hess, Practical Theology Professor at United Theological Seminary
Bruce Epperly, author and professor of Practical Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary

Kara Root

This moment.
A seemingly insignificant moment,
like millions of others:
a child enters the world.
His story: yet to be written.
But like every other story,
already written:
the child will grow, learn,
will know love, loss, suffering, joy.
The child will become an adult.
And one day, the child will die.
The story of every human:
now God's story.
The experience of every human:
now God's experience.
Unlike any moment
creation and cosmos has ever witnessed:
Creator crossing the barrier
and entering its midst.
This moment
rips out the end of the human story
and rewrites it.

Kara Root is pastor of Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, MN and blogs at in the hereandnow.

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12/14/2010 5:00:00 AM

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Incarnation

Mainline Protestantism

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