Vivens homo

In the year 185 A.D., Irenaeus of Lyons, a bishop, wrote his treatise Against the Heretics. It contained these famous words: 

           Gloria Dei vivens homo.

Translation: "The glory of God is a human fully alive."

 Gregory Wolfe, writing in Image (Fall 2009), takes up this ancient Christian saying and asks why we find it so hard to affirm our humanity. He quotes Walker Percy who said, "We don't coincide with ourselves." 


For some reason we humans tend to try and be something other than human, an attitude which is sinful. But when we affirm the Christian belief that God became human, shouldn't that make us appreciate our humanity? Wolfe says, "We don't look at the incarnation rightly. We see it as the divine descending, perhaps condescending, to the human level--as if Jesus had to hold his nose while taking human form."


Every year at Christmas we have the opportunity to like ourselves again. The God who became flesh is the God who likes human beings. Christmas is about the Incarnation, and incarnation is about being 'carnal.' Not sinfully carnal, just factually carnal. Fleshy. 


God blessed flesh when he entered it. Flesh and spirit mesh in Christ. 


Being authentically human is good. Christmas is the doctrinal Day that celebrates our contingent existence. Don't ever apologize for being human. Celebrate it.