god was a baby
"When the designated time had come, God sent forth His Son born of a woman, born under the law, to deliver from the law those who were subjected to it, so that we might receive our status as adopted sons." —Galatians 4:4-5
We began the Christmas season celebrating Jesus' birth. On this eighth day of Christmas, we celebrate His conception, that is, the conception of God. To express the reality of His conception, God's Incarnation, we speak of Mary as the mother of God. This states that God really and permanently became a human being. He did not merely inhabit a human body or appear in the form of a human being. God actually became a human being.
God, in the womb of Mary, was a fetus about the size of a thumbnail. God nursed at Mary's breast. He needed to be "potty-trained." God talked "baby-talk." God had to be taught to walk. In addition to these physical realities of God's becoming human, God spiritually took on our weak human nature. He was born under the law (Gal 4:4). He was like us in all things but sin (Heb 4:15). He was tempted in every way that we are (Heb 4:15). The awesome God, the All-holy One, the great I AM, emptied Himself (see Phil 2:7) to the point that He had to struggle to overcome the little, stupid temptations with which all human beings struggle.
Why did God so humiliate Himself and become man? "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:16).
Prayer: Father, through this world day of prayer for peace and justice, break through in China as You did in the Soviet Union.
Promise: "Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart." —Lk 2:19
Praise: Alleluia! The Word became flesh! (Jn 1:14) Alleluia! Happy new year!
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, June 1, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 9, 1997