The very Son of God, older than the ages ,the invisible, the
incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light or
light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the archetype, the
immovable seal, the perfect likeness, the definition and word of the
Father: he it is who comes to his own
image and takes our nature for the good of our nature, and unites himself to an
intelligent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like.
He takes to himself all that is human, except
for sin. He was conceived by the Virgin
Mary, who had been first prepared in soul and body by the Spirit; his coming to
birth had to be treated with honor, virginity had to receive new honor. He comes forth as God, in the human nature he
has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit. Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it.
He who makes rich
is made poor; he takes on the poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He
who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory that I
may share in his fullness. He takes on
my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He enters into a second union with us, a union
far more wonderful than the first.
Holiness had to be
brought to man by the humanity assumed by one who was God, so that God might
overcome the tyrant by force and so deliver us and lead us back to himself
through the mediation of his Son. The
Son arranged this for the honor of the Father, to whom the Son is clearly
obedient in all things.
The Good Shepherd,
who lays down his life for the sheep, came in search of the straying sheep to
the mountains and hills on which you used to offer sacrifice. When he found it, he took it on the shoulders
that bore the wood of the cross, and led it back to the life of heaven.
Christ, the light
of all lights, follows John, the lamp that goes before him. The Word of God follows the bridegroom's
friend, who prepares a worthy people for the Lord by cleansing them by water in
preparation for the Spirit. We need God
to take our flesh and die that we might live. Saint Gregory Nazianzen, bishop
Who can
comprehend the depth of the wisdom of God or the depth of his Love for us? Before time began he planned to send his Son
to us. A Son who would give us all of
himself for us. Are we willing to give
our total obedience to God? kvs
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