Day 65: Why the Word Became Flesh

With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."  The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who "loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins": "the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world", and "he was revealed to take away sins." CCC 456-457

In today's reading, the Catechism dives into why God took on flesh in the Incarnation. It was the greatest act of love for us and with His sacrifice redeemed our human nature from the disaster of the Fall. God did this for several reasons:

• "to save us by reconciling us with God" CCC 457
• so that "we might know God's love" CCC 458
• Jesus became "our model of holiness" CCC 459
• to make us "partakers of the divine nature" CCC 460

It is that last one I found especially moving today. In the men's group I'm part of in my parish, we watched a video from Matthew Leonard on divinization. I like how Eastern Christians (Catholic & Orthodox) have expressed what they call theosis. Leonard did a good job explaining how our faith changes us and through His grace makes us "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4). The discussion among my peers this morning was interesting as we shared what we thought all of this meant in light of this profound teaching in Scripture, the Fathers, and the Church. Christianity is unique in this belief. As the Catechism Companion, Vol I notes:

God loves us so much that he allows us to share in his divine nature. Through the power of Baptism, we became a new creation, adopted by God the Father. He is our Father, and we are his children. Great saints have proclaimed that the Son of God became the Son of Man so that men might become sons of God. Jesus became human so that we could be "sharers in his divinity". (p. 134)