Fr. Hector's message

Why Did God Become Man?

During my time of missionary service in Albania, I was giving a Christmas message to about 50 or 60 college students on campus.  And I asked the question:  “Why did God become man?” 

 Amidst the crowd, a brave Muslim girl stood up and said something like: “I am a Muslim.  And it is on this point that we Muslims could never agree with you Christians.  As Muslims, we recognize above all else the greatness of God.  It is blasphemy to believe that God, who is infinitely greater than all things, could become so small and insignificant like us humans.  It is something that I can never believe and accept.” 

 Here we were, singing Christmas songs and experiencing the joy of the Christmas season, and this Muslim student threatened to dampen our spirits with her critical comment concerning the foundation of our Christian faith!  There was a sense of tension and uneasiness in the room as the students looked to me to respond.  Before responding myself, I thanked the Muslim girl for joining our group and for feeling comfortable enough to freely speak her mind.  I then asked the rest of the students if any of them would like to have the first opportunity to respond to her comments. 

One of our bright young leaders, Sonilla, stood up and said:  “We Christians too recognize the greatness of God and that He is infinitely greater than us.  So in recognizing His greatness, who are we to say what God can and cannot do?  If it’s His will to become a person, who are we to question that?  But above all else, in addition to His greatness, above all else we believe that God is love.  And it is because of His love that He became as we are, so that He could save us and have a more intimate and loving relationship with us. 

 As I listened to her response, I thanked God for the mission and the Church in Albania which was producing bright Christian leaders who could eloquently defend and expound on the mysteries of the Christian faith.  The entire group erupted with cheers and clapping, as the girl beautifully responded to the essential question of why God became man. 

 During this Advent Season leading us to the celebration of Christ’s Nativity, we remember and meditate on God’s unfathomable love for us and for His entire creation.  His love for each of us is so great that he wants to be united with each of us.  After the Fall of Adam and Eve, we were not capable of ascending to God, so He condescended in a miraculous way down to our level, in order to make this union possible. 

The celebration of our Lord’s Nativity is a day of great joy and celebration, for the words of the Prophet Isaiah are fulfilled:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,” which means, “God with us” (Is. 7:14).  This is the good news of Christmas.  It is a message of salvation – and fulfilling our purpose – for all people who repent and turn to Christ.   

 The Incarnation is unfathomable to those who do not know the love of Christ.  But to us who believe, it is a glorious celebration of God’s love for us.  We, in turn, are called to share that love with our fellow man and with the entire world. 

 Christ is Born!  Glorify Him!