Catholic Radio Dramas

The marvel of the Incarnation

From a sermon by Saint Gregory Nazianzen, bishop (c. 330-389)

The marvel of the Incarnation

The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light of 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. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. 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 voice in the wilderness; the bridegroom 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. We have died with him, that we may be purified. We have risen again with him, because we have died with him. We have been glorified with him, because we have risen again with him.

Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings

Saint Gregory Nazianzen (c. 330-389) was born of Christian parents at Nazianzus, Capadocia (Turkey) in 330. He studied rhetoric at Caesarea, Palestine followed by ten years at Athens. Gregory joined St. Basil at Pontus on the Iris River to live a solitary life. He was ordained in at the age of 32 in 362 and was named bishop of the Arian territory of Sasima, an area torn by civil strife. He was invited to Constantinople by Basil to help revitalize the Church in the East and combat the heresy of Arianism. There his eloquent preaching at the Church of Anastasia brought floods of converts. But there were torrents of abuse and persecution from the Arians.

Gregory was named archbishop of Constantinople. He later retired to private life and lived in great austerity. He died at Nazianzus on January 25, 389. A Doctor of the Church, Saint Gregory is often surnamed “the Theologian” for his eloquent defense of orthodoxy and the decrees he helped form at the Council of Nicaea, notably his celebrated sermons on the Trinity and his Five Theological Orations delivered at St. Anastasia in Constantinople. Together with St. Basil compiled a selection of writings by Origen.

Music “Silent Night” performed by The Choir of Magdalen College in Warner, New Hampshire. Used with Permission and our sincere thanks.