The Descent Of Jesus

            Referencing the coming of Jesus into the world, Eugene Peterson paraphrases John 1:14 in a vivid way: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (The Message).  And our “neighborhood” wasn’t a move up for the Son of God (2 Corinthians 8:9).  We could compare it to trading a Park Avenue penthouse for a cardboard shack in the slums and it would still fall short of what Jesus sacrificed for us.  Henri Nouwen writes of the descending of Christ in a letter to his nephew:

“I wanted to write to you about the love of God become visible in Jesus. How is that love made visible through Jesus? It is made visible in the descending way. That is the great mystery of the Incarnation. God has descended to us human beings to become a human being with us; and once among us, he descended to the total dereliction of one condemned to death. It isn’t easy really to feel and understand from the inside this descending way of Jesus. Every fiber of our being rebels against it. We don’t mind paying attention to poor people from time to time, but descending to a state of poverty and becoming poor with the poor—that we don’t want to do. And yet that is the way Jesus chose as the way to know God.”*

            We are called to mimic the descent of Jesus.  “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5–8).

            The way up is gained by descent.  Fullness comes through emptying ourselves. Exaltation is achieved through humility.  It makes no earthly sense.  But it is the way of Christ.

God loves you!

Mike

*Letters To Marc About Jesus, Henri Nouwen, 2009