Incarnation, by Will Willimon

Chapter 4

1. The Incarnation is not proved in complex thinking, but rather in faithful living as we attempt to embody in our earthly, human lives the divine mystery of the God who refused to be God without us.

- Why is incarnation more about embodiment than mere thinking?

2.We learned in Jesus that God is so completely loving, so determined to tabernacle and to have relationship with us, that God shows up often at the most inopportune moments and in the most unlikely places.  The Trinity is relentlessly determined to self-reveal.

- What is our motivation for limiting God’s reach in our lives?

3. There is no soul apart from the body, no Holy Spirit without the Incarnate Son, no resurrection without the body.  If Jesus had not taken on flesh, we would not have known that God is embodied.  We would not have known where to look for God in human history.  As for us, we are bodies groaning for redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:22-23.)

- How might we interpret the truth of each sentence above?

4. The Incarnation also implies that truth is personal, embodied.  What is the Christian faith about?  It is about Jesus, the one who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  We do not worship principles, abstractions, propositions, or an ancient book.  We worship the man, Jesus.  His voice calls to us, seeking out his lost sheep, inviting us to his table.

- Who is Jesus to you?  How have you come to know & love him?

  

5. The humility of Christ reveals the divine precisely in its manner of being human. We are most human not in our heroic, Promethean achievements, our vaunted intellect, or our will to power; we are most human in our loving, humble, self-sacrificial service to others in need. Just like Jesus.

- Why is the degree of our humanity measured by outward rather than inward goals?

6. It is somewhat of a jolt...to find that Jesus grows, learns, and has ambiguous interactions with his parents.  Young Jesus asks questions, but he also answers them.  How sad that some Christians (like those who would never take the trouble to read a book on the Incarnation) think they do not need to grow and learn.

- What does it mean that even Jesus depends on learning curves?

7.  Most of the time, the church seems aloof from their lives and unaware of their need.  The Christian faith appears complicated, judgmental, and arcane.  God? A vague, remote enigma.  But on Christmas Eve, when a young lector pronounces, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” they understand that this is a word from God to them.  The truth about God is that God is for us.  Love moves the world, all the way down.  Our destiny is communion rather than oblivion.  Jesus Christ is God With Us.  This is the most important word Christians have to say to the world.  This, the grandeur of Incarnation.

- How has this book helped you to further understand and value Incarnation?