The First Incarnation

It must have been astonishing, that first Incarnation, when the void exploded with Divine love creating the universe and the mysteries of the cosmos.  While we, of course, were not there to witness this first Incarnation, it is always right there in front of us to behold.  It can be as breathtaking as a sunrise or sunset and as inconspicuous as a blade of grass.  The gifts of first Incarnation were prepared for us from the beginning of time and have always been waiting for us to embrace them.  

So, what if this new year our resolution is to have a change of mind, a real “metanoia” about saving our home and embracing the gifts of our planet earth.  Rather than giving up the chocolate, French fries, or booze, let’s try giving up that old worn-out story about ourselves and our world, that we are somehow entitled to consume more of the earth’s resources than we need.  That oceans and forests are somehow disposable and not deserving of our protection and respect.  Or that the lives of animals are somehow inferior to humans and can be killed as a sport for our personal recreation.  What if this year our resolution was to stop being so busy trying to possess and squander the gifts of the planet and take more time to share the gifts of our resources and abundance with the lives of the poor and destitute.  

Perhaps this year we can truly fall in love with the Creator and like Francis of Assisi, acknowledge that we are intimately related to “Brother Sun and Sisters Moon and Stars” and recognize that “Brothers Wind and Air, Sister Water and Brother Fire, and our Sister Mother Earth” are all precious gifts given to all by the extravagant love of God.  Perhaps this year we can wake up to the inner space of grace that dwells in each of us and in every-thing and know that it holds the very DNA of the Divine.  

This year let’s resolve to create a small opening in our chaotic and cluttered lives to experience this astonishing, ongoing, never-ending Incarnation of God in our world.  A space where we can release our judgements about what is ours to hoard, consume, or waste and simply embrace all that is given to us as pure gift.  There we can come to an important truth about the first Incarnation.  For just as one person will experience sunrise as the beginning of day, another sees it as sunset, the beginning of night, there is no need to distinguish between what is the beginning or the end, or what is light or darkness, or what is mine and not yours.  It is simply one continuous, never ending birth, death, resurrection, and life-giving grace of God’s Incarnation in the universe, touching everyone, everything, at every moment of time.