Not by human flesh and blood,
By the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh,
Virgin’s offspring pure and fresh.
(LSB 332, stanza 2)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:14)
God is often thought of as beyond our reach. There are times when we think that God is far away, and we are left to suffer alone. Yet what we don’t perceive with our eyes, we can receive by faith with our ears in hearing that God humbled Himself to become flesh and share in our suffering. While He was wholly different in being God, He was also wholly the same so that our flesh might be redeemed by His flesh. Jesus is the Word made flesh and yet this is not the entirety of His glory. His glory has been revealed to us especially in His submission to the cross. In His bodily death, resurrection, and ascension He has made all who believe and are baptized into His name to be a new creation. Because we are His new creation, He continues to sustain and fill us with His grace and truth in the Word and Sacraments until He comes again in glory. In all these ways we may know that He abides with us just as He has promised.
Let us pray: Almighty God, in the Word made flesh You dwelt among us and have promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Grant that we would be strengthened by Your grace and truth until we see You face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Written by Garrett Buvinghausen, Sem IV)