But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Galatians 4:4 NRSV)

Scandal of particularity
1. The difficulty of regarding a single individual person (Jesus) as being the savior of all people. (Wiktionary)

Christmas is the celebration that God is not an abstraction. God chooses to reveal God’s self in and through a particular person, at a given point in time, and within a specific geographical location. God came in the flesh in and through the person of Jesus, sometime between 6 and 4 BC, into the little town of Bethlehem within an obscure portion of the vast Roman Empire, and “under the law”-which means into a devout, Jewish family. It is probably also a safe bet that this Palestinian Jewish baby boy had the complexion of my morning coffee with a bit of creamer.

It is precisely in his historical particularity that Christ attracts our attention and devotion. God becomes believable because God chooses to touch ground and to walk in our moccasins (to borrow a Native American term). I find the incarnation to be a great comfort. Why? Because I cannot reduce God to my own measures, whims, projection, or imagination. God chooses to disclose God’s self in holiness and love through the particularity of a manger, rugged cross, and empty tomb. In this special way, Christ becomes the identifiable Savior in a graciously particular and universal way. Thanks be to God!

Let us pray. . .
Almighty God, you gave us your only Son to take on our human nature and to illumine the world with your light. By the particularity of your revelation, you speak to us in the concreteness of our struggles and joys. We give you thanks and praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Contributed by Pastor Dan
Monday December 22, 2014
Liturgical Year B: Week 4
Liturgical Color: Blue
Sunday Gospel reading: Advent 4
Fourth Sunday of Advent