About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David’s hometown and Joseph went there because he was David’s family.
Mary was engaged to Joseph and travelled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2: 1-7
Reflect on the word INCARNATION for a few moments.
Soon Christians will celebrate the day when God took the initiative to enter the human race in the form of a baby named Jesus. Incarnation happened when the Divine took on all the attributes of being human, in the life of Jesus. God ceases to be distant and becomes a presence in the world.
We hear sermons about an Incarnate God. We’ve read the words. We sing the words. We become filled with excitement as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Do we pause long enough to sense God’s presence when we see a social worker giving a child a toy as his mother watches in tears; an elderly person helping someone in need; a bruised child in a school yard sharing lunch with another; a blanket being placed over a homeless person on a winter night; a son visiting a mother in an aged care facility.
Does Incarnation become a process that is up close and personal? Or an event celebrated once a year in cathedrals, churches and Christian gatherings?
God in Christ is with us just as we are and where ever we are.
Incarnate God, whether I always recognize your presence or not, I know that I can see you in the life of Jesus. Thank you
© Ranjini Wickramaratne-Rebera
For a number of years, our dear friend Ranjini Rebera wrote Biblical reflections for the use of Gungahlin Uniting Church and others, usually for Advent and Lent. We were privileged to receive these, as Ranjini had a working history of writing and teaching on a global stage. Each time she completed the considerable work on one of these studies for us she would announce firmly, ‘That’s it. That is the last one I’m writing. No more. End of story!’ But as Advent or Lent came around again she would start hinting that she’d had an idea for a reflection – and she would write another one.
When she completed a Reflection for Lent 2021, we were not to know that this really was the last one. Ranjini died on 13 October 2021. We miss her intellect, her leadership, her vivid personality, her artistic gifts, her deep faith and her pastoral heart. We have lost some colour from our world.
The Gungahlin Uniting Church Worship Team, where Ranjini served for several years, offers Ranjini’s study material, first produced in 2015, as we give thanks for her life shared among us.