Advent (the arrival of a notable person or thing) is a season building up to Christmas, when we celebrate the arrival of the most notable person in history – Jesus Christ. Advent calls us to reflect on the love of God – a love that is not abstract but embodied, self-giving, and sacrificial. In Jesus, we see love manifested in its purest form: God giving Himself away to humanity, for the sake of humanity.
St. Augustine captures this beautifully: “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us“. This personal, intimate love is most profoundly expressed in the Incarnation. God did not remain distant but stepped into our world, becoming Emmanuel – God with us.
Love is vulnerable
But to love means to be vulnerable – In Jesus’ birth, we see the vulnerability of divine love – a baby born in a stable, dependent, and fragile. C.S. Lewis reminds us, “To love at all is to be vulnerable.” The Incarnation shows us that love risks everything for the sake of the beloved. This Advent, let us consider the ways we can make our love more courageous, more vulnerable, and more Christlike. True love is not safe, but it is always worth the risk.
Love embraces
Advent reminds us that love is not about perfection but presence. Jesus came into the messiness of human life – not to judge but to redeem. In the birth of Jesus, we see God’s love embracing us at our lowest. Born in a humble stable, we are reminded that God’s love is not reserved for the powerful or the perfect but comes to us in our weaknesses and needs. As Isaiah prophesied, ‘A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench‘ (Isaiah 42:3). Through Jesus’ birth, God assures us that no one is too broken to be held in His love.
May we encounter afresh the self-giving, vulnerable, and embracing love of God that he poured out for you and me through Jesus’ Incarnation; where He stepped into our brokenness to redeem us and call us to Himself.
Blessings
Nico