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Re Incarnation

I don't know whether it would seem ludicrous or be deemed proper to have a favorite doctrine, but I have always been fascinated by the Incarnation. The divine choosing to limit itself by entering the physical realm and taking human form strikes me with awe and terror.

The Right Reverend Bono and W.B. Yeats, two Irishmen possessed of the power of words, capture this sentiment more powerfully than I ever could. First, Bono:

"That there's a force of love and logic behind the universe is overwhelming to start with, if you believe it. But the idea that that same love and logic would choose to describe itself as a baby born in shit and straw and poverty is genius, and brings me to my knees, literally."

And Yeats:

The Mother of God

The three-fold terror of love; a fallen flare
Through the hollow of an ear;
Wings beating about the room;
The terror of all terrors that I bore
The Heavens in my womb.

Had I not found content among the shows
Every common woman knows,
Chimney corner, garden walk,
Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes
And gather all the talk?

What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,
This fallen star my milk sustains,
This love that makes my heart's blood stop
Or strikes a sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 13, 2010 at 1:37 AM

    Very profound Pastor John you just tolds us this in your bible study

    ReplyDelete

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