Advent: God as one of Us

What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us.“ Joan Osborne, 1995

The unequivocal most profound point in all the Christmas story is, God took up an earthly address in a human body. Beyond the era when those who new Jesus as "Mary’s boy”, Christians have struggled with an 'ordinary Jesus’. Religious sentiment pursues a romantic idea of Him: we want to embellish Him, ‘chrome Him with many chromes’ and polish Him, but in doing so we only reflect ourselves. We seek to keep Jesus essentially different from us, after all He is supremely good and Holy God, and we are not so good or holy, and definitely not God. So unlike Mary, we conceive “Extra-Ordinary Jesus”, an over-sized, divinely enhanced half-man god, like the Grecian hybrid idea of “god in human image”.

With good reason the ancients familiar with Jesus called Him “Jesus of Nazareth’ – there was a Jesus of Bethany, a few Jesus’ lived over in Capernaum, and a whole lot of Jesus’ lived in Jerusalem. Furthermore Cuba is full of Jesus’! Ordinary Jesus’. Peter explained Pentecost saying, "Jesus of Nazareth, a man…God has made both Lord and Christ” - that means someone from among us is now operating out of the throne of Heaven. Yes, Mary’s boy from Manurewa! Emmanuel: “God With Us/God One of Us.” One of us to eternally represent us in the Godhead.

“Jesus was God and man in one person, that God and man might be happy together again.” - George Whitfield

“God’s dialogue with us becomes truly human, since God conducts his part as man.” - Pope Benedict

Matthew 1: 25 TPT She will give birth to a Son, And he will be known as “Emmanuel,” which means in Hebrew,“God became one of us.”

Fletch

Rob ByrneComment