Beyond the Manger: Christmas Is the Birth of a New Humanity

In this season, when we are scurrying about to buy presents and celebrate with friends, co-workers, and family, we should pause and ask ourselves: What are we celebrating?

Supposedly, it is about a newborn baby whom Christians claim to be God in human flesh. But is this merely God “appearing” in the world? Is it simply the beginning of Christ’s sacrificial work?

No! It’s much more.

Christmas is the beginning of a new humanity. In the birth of this Child from a virgin mother, God’s divine nature is united with human nature, and the divine energies of God permeate the very depths of what it means to be human.

For a very long time, humanity struggled to follow God’s teachings. He gave us a Law. He sent prophets. Yet more was needed to fulfill the divine plan.

In Paradise, Adam and Eve were created in God’s image and were challenged to use their free will in obedience to His will. They were tempted and failed. Their choice brought about a voluntary separation from the divine union they had enjoyed. To complete His plan for them, God sent them out of Paradise, clothed them in “skins”—a mortal, physical life destined to die. And over many generations it became clear that humanity could not overcome this wounded condition on its own. Something more was required for healing and for the full development of what it means to bear God’s image.

What was needed was an inner change, a restoration of union with God so that divine energy could once again flow through the human heart—giving the power to overcome the passions inherited in this mortal life. Without this healing, mankind remained separated from its Creator.

Sin could not be overcome by human effort alone. Pride infected humanity, and the more people tried to save themselves, the more prideful they became—placing themselves at the center of creation. They could not reach out in humility to embrace the love of their Creator.

This is where the significance of the Incarnation comes into play.

The Incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was not simply a way to pay a debt, nor merely a lesson in virtue. He came to transform human nature itself. Humanity needed an inner healing. By uniting divine and human natures in His miraculous birth, Christ opened the path for all mankind to receive divine energy, to gain the power needed to tame the passions of our fallen nature, and to grow into the likeness of God—into the likeness of Christ Himself.

Today, because of this transforming event, all people can be united with Christ through:

• a rebirth in Baptism,
• the receiving of the Holy Spirit into the heart,
• partaking of His Body and Blood in Holy Communion,
• a life guided by clergy ordained by Him,
• discipleship and cooperation with His Spirit,
• and membership in His Body, the Church, the gathering of the faithful.

This is what we are truly supposed to be celebrating in this season.

It has nothing to do with gift-giving, Santa Claus, or the endless consumerism that fills these weeks with noise and distraction.

Let us reflect instead on this great event—how we have been blessed by this transformation, how we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be reunited with Christ, and how, through cooperation with His divine energies, He now lives within us, preparing us for eternal life with Him and a return to Paradise.