Our current sermon series, “The Divine Dictionary,” addresses mind-stretching ideas of our faith.  Thus far we’ve looked at Mystery, then, Calling, and now we come to Incarnation.

I am going on vacation after this sermon – Incarnation has maxed me out!

One can hardly do justice to this crucial part of the Christian faith in the space of a 1900-word sermon.  My research notes for this sermon go on and on – fortunately, never printed out on paper or else I’d kill a tree or two.

But, here is the forest from the trees:

First, we need to understand the error made by those who would say, “Jesus was just a man – yes, a powerful ethical teacher — but only a historical person like anyone else.”    This is the Ethical Jesus, embraced by many today, exemplified in “The Jesus Seminar.”  This is a misunderstanding of the profoundly deep and paradoxical symbolism of the Bible’s stories and statements about Jesus as God Incarnate.

Second, we need to understand how the Incarnation changes our lives.  Every statement in the New Testament about Jesus Christ’s Incarnation is accompanied by inspiring teaching about how we can live as free, joyous and generous people.  The Incarnation opens new possibilities for how our souls and world can change.

So, this Sunday, reams of research will get compressed into 1900 words and just these two points.

But even more, I pray that you will be awed by Incarnation in your life — opening your mind and changing your heart because God is with us, in Jesus Christ!