An Advent Poem: Incarnation

Read the following poem out loud. What words or phrases “shimmer” or stand out or leap off the page at you?

Incarnation

I am the body of Christ.
What an awesome and terrifying thought!
Christ inhabits my body – my toe, my pinky, my elbow…
Spirit is made manifest through my actions.

What an awesome and terrifying thought!
Prepare the way – clear the obstacles – make way for Christ!
Spirit is made manifest through my actions.
Christ is born in me and borne by me: carried to the world.

Prepare the way – clear the obstacles – make way for Christ!
Christ inhabits my body – my toe, my pinky, my elbow…
Christ is born in me and borne by me: carried to the world.
I am the body of Christ.

(c)2011 Cheryl Lyon. First publication 2021. Permission to share freely with attribution. 

Sit with those words for phrases for a minute or two.  What meaning do they have for you at this moment in your life?  

Read the poem aloud a second time.  Do you sense an invitation to respond in some way?  

Read the poem a third time, and then just rest for another moment or two.  Rest in your own experience.  Rest in the presence of the Holy One.  

If you have more time, you may wish to engage with the ancient writings that inspired this poem:

• Symeon the New Theologian (“We awaken in Christ’s body,
  as Christ awakens our bodies…”): https://cac.org/christs-body-2016-12-16/
• Luke 3:4-6 “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him…) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+3%3A4-6&version=NIV