Sunday Reflection (December 29, 2019)

There was a song in the 1990s that raised a profound question:  “What If God Was One of Us?”  The one thing that differentiates Christianity from Judaism and Islam is that we believe that God, indeed, did become one of us in Jesus Christ.  The transcendent, hidden God is more fully revealed in Jesus of Nazareth who was empowered by the Holy Spirit and taught us to pray to our compassionate heavenly Father.  This laid the foundation for the development of the Christian belief called Trinity (John 1:1-14).

We know what God’s character is like through Jesus Christ, thus it is possible to see that God is not a God of violence.  The Old Testament ambivalence about a God of violence has come to an end with the revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ.  We can no longer project our violent nature upon God.  God has shown us differently in Jesus Christ.  When God became one of us in Jesus Christ, God lifted up humanity to God as valued and worthy of friendship with God.