A short thought - The eternal Christ became Jesus

A short thought - The eternal Christ became Jesus


In reading Richard Rohr’s  book ‘The Universal Christ’ he writes the following words.


Christ is God, and Jesus is the Christ’s historical manifestation in time.

Jesus is a Third someone, not just God and not just man, but God and human together.


Two sentences which give so much to ponder and yet for me gives such clarity. As he writes elsewhere, ‘Christ is not Jesus’s surname'. 

For those of us who tentatively understand God as Trinity, and so often speak of Father Son and Holy Spirit, it’s really helpful to widen and deepen what or who the second person of the Trinity is. For clearly the man Jesus did not pre-exist as his life takes place at a moment in time. But the Word who brought into existence everything and whose DNA is within all, did pre-exist and so in the incarnation of Jesus divinity and earth became one. 


It won’t be long before the season of Advent is upon us and looking forward to the incarnation will become the focus. But of course we don’t have to wait, because if Christ ‘who brought all things into being and all things have their being in Christ’ then that Christ DNA is to be found within all of creation, which includes us. All we need is open hearts and minds to perceive the presence of the eternal Christ in the now, in all of creation, our neighbours and ourselves. It just takes some pondering.


Christ Jesus

help us to ponder

on your Incarnation.


To look with your eyes

to listen with your ears

to sense with your heart.


Help us 

to find the Christ within us,

others,

and all creation.


That this day

and all days

Incarnation is happening

and the universe

rings out with praise. Amen


(c) Mark Goodhand 19th November 2024

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