The Divine Incarnation: Understanding Christmas Beyond Bethlehem

As we celebrate Christmas, it's essential to delve deeper than the traditional imagery of Bethlehem, a guiding star, a humble birth in a manger, angels glorifying, and the arrival of the wise men. These elements, while important, especially for children, only scratch the surface of a profound spiritual truth for adults.

The Birth of Jesus Christ: A New Creation

The birth of Jesus Christ marks not just a historical event but a miraculous new beginning. Jesus's conception itself was extraordinary, born not of earthly means but through the Holy Spirit's action upon Mary, a most holy woman. This miraculous event allowed the divine to become joined with humanity, creating a unique union of God in human flesh. Jesus, thus, stands as the 'New Adam', symbolizing a new possibility for humanity.

Theosis: Becoming United with God

The Incarnation opens the pathway to Theosis – an intimate union with God. In the Orthodox Church, through Baptism and Chrismation, we receive the Holy Spirit which is panted in our hearts, echoing this divine union. As Scripture affirms, God then lives in us and we live in Him and we become adopted children and heirs. As St. Symeon the New Theologian expressed, our rebirth in Christ transforms us, allowing us to don divinity and become heavenly as Christ is heavenly.

If you are a Christian inasmuch as Christ is heavenly, so also you should be heavenly…He made the whole of me God. He assumed my condemned flesh, and dressed me in full divinity, for having been baptized I put on Christ (Gal 3:27) not perceptibly, but by all means mentally. (Hymns of Divine Love, Hymn 44)

Without the Incarnation, this union with God would remain unreachable, leaving us in our fallen state stemming from Adam and Eve's fall. However, Jesus's life and teachings show us the path to this new creation, to become divine like Him and return to our state before the Fall due to Adam and Eve's disobedience. We can now put on Christ, not physically but spiritually. Through grace, adoption, perception, knowledge and contemplation we are transformed by following His example. We can now become like Him!

Embracing Spiritual Transformation

Christmas is more than a commemoration; it's an invitation to spiritual transformation. It's a journey that requires faith, following Christ's teachings, and living in obedience to His commandments. This path opens our souls to increasing grace, enabling us to experience God's presence and align our will with His.

Saint Symeon writes about the ultimate goal of God's incarnate word: to make us partake in His divine nature, to elevate us by grace to His level by nature, preparing us for eternal life His kingdom.

Saint Symeon writes: 

“What is the aim of the incarnate dispensation of God’s Word, preached in all the Holy Scriptures but which we, who read them, do not know? The only aim is that, having entered into what is our own, we should participate in what is His. The Son of God has become Son of Man in order to make us, men, sons of God, raising our race by grace to what He is Himself by nature, granting us birth from above through the grace of the Holy Spirit and leading us straightway to the kingdom of heaven, or rather, granting us this kingdom of heaven within us (Luke 17:21), in order that we should not merely be fed by the hope of entering it, but entering into full possession thereof should cry: our ‘life is hid with Christ in God’ (Col. 3:3).”  St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Practical and Theological Precepts” from The Philokalia

The True Gift of Christmas

Thus, the true gift of Christmas is the potential for Theosis, a profound transformation that transcends moral directives or societal norms. It's a metamorphosis of our very being, led by the Spirit and grace, to intimately know God and become like Him.

As we celebrate Christmas, let's remember and glorify: Christ is born! Humanity is transformed! We are invited to follow Him and become divine in His likeness.