EMMANUEL…
EMMANUEL..
“Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” Psalm 66:20 NIV
Some of us have been given second chances or maybe even multiple chances to ‘begin again’ or be ‘reborn’ into our True Selves. As a Christian I believe that is possible because of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. We will celebrate His Birth in three days. CS Lewis writes about this nearly universal myth of a god coming to earth, since most all spiritual beliefs contain this common myth. Lewis writes: “Now as myth transcends thought, Incarnation transcends myth. The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also fact. The old myth of the Dying God, without ceasing to be myth, comes down from heaven of legend and imagination to the earth in history. It happens – at a particular date, in a particular place, followed by definable historical consequences. We pass from a Balder or an Osiris, dying nobody knows when or where, to a historical Person crucified (it is all in order) under Pontius Pilate…Christians also need to be reminded…that what became Fact was a Myth, that it carries with it into the world of fact all the properties of a myth. God is more than a god, not less; Christ is more than Balder, not less. We must not be ashamed of the mythical radiance resting on our theology. We must not be nervous about ‘parallels’ and ‘Pagan Christs’: they ought to be there – it would be a stumbling block if they were not.”
Here is Sugarland’s version of the classic Christmas Hymn…
(The group has Atlanta roots.)
Photo from Hubble
DKS