Incarnational

Oftentimes I think we forget that we are incarnational beings. 

Historians tell us that Giotto, while painting the walls of churches or working on smaller panels, would walk through the streets of where he was for inspiration. He believed that something sacred happened in the everyday interactions and events that life brings to us. In his own way, he recognized the incarnation in the simplicity of life, the sacredness of the mundane. 

Today’s society, I believe, wants us to believe that the sacred is reserved only for a special few people. There is a reason that so many people are trying to exclude others from the benefits of the lives we live. “If we give them some, there won’t be enough for us.” We forget that we do not need everything, but only what is necessary, that way we can all have what is needed to live a good life.  

We can get so caught up in rushing through the small things in life. We take ourselves away from others because we just have to get something done. We do not enjoy doing laundry or cooking because it takes us away from what we really enjoy doing. We get frustrated because we order something online and it will take more than one day for it to come. 

Part of being an incarnational being is to recognize, like Giotto once did, the sacredness of not just those around us, but in the sacredness of where we are, even in our daily lives. Especially now during the winter and cold, I can find myself wishing that I was somewhere warmer, forgetting that where I am at this moment is, for whatever reason, exactly where I am supposed to be, surrounded by the people that I am supposed to be around. We get so caught up in where we are not, that we forget about how special where we are, and how far we have come, is. Our mistakes do not define us unless we let them.

Advent is a time for us to take a step back and recognize that the incarnation helps us recognize our own sacredness. The beauty of God was contained in one person, so we too could recognize that our own uniqueness is the fullness of God’s beauty. Once we see that in ourselves, we can begin to see it in everything around us: in each other, in creation, and in the small moments of our lives. There is beauty and hope everywhere, as long as we choose to see it.  

Pictured: “Soul” Detail, Acrylic on Canvas