Incarnation

• The incarnation is when god took on the human condition through jesus
• the fact that god was prepared to experience being human shows his love for humanity

  • god knows what it is like to be human = this helps Christians to value gods love
• luke 1:26-38 tells the story of the annunciation

  • this is when the angel Gabriel asked Mary to accept the role of mother of the son of god
• Matthew 1:18-24 tells the story of the visit of the angel gabriel to Joseph
• Luke’s account?

  focuses on Mary’s role

  • gabriel tells Mary she will conceive & give birth to Jesus, who will be the son of god & conceived through the power of the spirit
  • god gives Mary the choice & she agrees by saying ‘let it be with me in according to your word’
  • gabriel’s message is for all believers, as through Jesus’ birth god is fulfilling his promise to the jews
  • jesus is fully human and fully god
• luke’s account quote?

  ’he will be great, and will be called the son of the most high’
• Matthew’s account?

  focuses on Joseph’s role

  • tells how joseph planned to break up with Mary, however an angel appeared in his dreams and told him it was right to marry Mary as her child was conceived by the holy spirit
  • the angel confirms that Jesus is being sent to earth by god to save humanity from its sins
  • jesus called by name ‘Emmanuel’ = Jewish name meaning ‘god is with us’, confirming Jesus is the son of god
• Matthew’s account quote?

  ’for the child conceived in her is from the holy spirit. she will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins’
• luke & Matthew’s account similarities?

  mary was a virgin

  • god worked through human beings to bring about his plan for humanity
  • jesus was conceived by the power of the holy spirit
  • jesus was the son of god
  • the angel gabriel announced Jesus’ birth
• the word of god is another name for the son of god, who is both fully god and a separate person of the trinity
• the son of god is also known as the word of god

  • the word of god became human in the form of jesus to guide people closer to god & share in his love
  • Jesus is ’the word of god made flesh’
• nature of word of god?

  he is eternal = like the father, the word of god has always existed

  • the word of god is god = a word is a form of self-expression and comes from within a person. in the same way, the word of god is god’s self-expression
  • also distinct from god = while they are united & co-exist, there is also a distinction between them
  • the word is how god expresses his power & love = word gives life, light & guidance to people
• word as eternal quote?

  ’in the beginning was the word’
• word as god quote?

  ’the word was god’
• word as distinct from god quote?

  ’the word was with god’
• word as god’s expression of power & love?

  ’what has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people’
• god took on the human condition through Jesus as a sign of:

  • his immense love for humanity = god was willing to become human to strengthen the relationship
  • god knew what it was like to be human & therefore catholics can value his love more
• ‘and the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth’

  • confirms Jesus is the word of god = has always existed however took on human nature to live on earth as jesus
  • word came to earth to guide people closer to god & teach how to share in god’s love
  • grace means ‘free gift’ = Jesus is god’s free gift to humanity & is an expression of god’s love for humans
• Christians believe that jesus is both fully human and fully god
• Jesus described himself as the ‘son of man’ to emphasise his humanity

  • yet he was also the ‘son of god’ = shows that he shared in god’s divine nature & power
• ‘son of man’ meaning?

  can be used as a general title for any human to refer to themselves

  • or it can be a title for someone given power and authority by god
• if Jesus were not fully human, he would not have been bothered by the pain & suffering of his crucifixion

  • however he knew that, as a human, his crucifixion would cause him great agony
  • ‘then he began to teach them that the son of man must undergo great suffering’
• jesus acknowledged he was the son of god when brought before the Jewish council & was asked:

  • ‘are you the messiah, the son of the blessed one?’
  • and jesus answered ‘I am’ = he acknowledged he was the son of god
• Jesus said ‘you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of the power’ :

  • Jesus used the title ‘son of man’ to emphasise his humanity
  • however he also said he had a share in god’s power, showing his divinity
• god is eternal & has no beginning or end = therefore Jesus could not become god following the resurrection

  • the resurrection therefore proves that Jesus always was god, but during his life on earth he limited himself to the human condition
• icthus = meaning ’fish’ in greek

  • however also used as an acronym for ‘Jesus Christ, son of god, saviour’
  • this was used as a declaration of Christian faith when they were persecuted = shows belief in Jesus as son of god & saviour

  
• alpha & omega symbol?

  alpha is first letter of Greek alphabet & omega is the last letter

  • indicate that god & Jesus are involved in everything from beginning to end
  • used in many religious places & ornaments, however particularly on the paschal candle
• chi-rho = monogram formed from first 2 letters of greek word for christ, when written in capitals

  • acts as a reminder of the death of Jesus
  • reminds christians that Jesus was sent by god to save humanity through his death
  • therefore the symbol has great power to inspire christians

  
• reasons against religious art?

  is impossible to portray god accurately = an infinite god cannot be represented using finite human resources

  • can mislead people about the nature of god as he cannot be portrayed accurately
  • praying in front of art may lead people to think the statue is being worshipped as god
  • against 2nd commandment = jews & some Christian’s believe 2nd commandment forbids paintings or statues. ‘you shall not make for yourself an idol’
• the catholic church approves the use of religious art as it teaches that it can:

  • inspire people
  • provide focus during prayer
  • help people learn about aspects of god’s work
  • have a positive role in religious life
• reasons for religious art?

  jesus was fully human = therefore it is acceptable to show Jesus in a human form; any art that captures his human qualities has value

  • Jesus was fully god = acceptable to show god in human form as god chose to reveal himself in human form, he can be depicted in that form
  • jesus died to save all humanity = therefore Jesus can be depicted as any ethnicity, as his death & resurrection affected all people
• a sacred heart statue is a statue of Jesus that reflects his total self-giving love for all people
• sacred heart statue features:

  • expression of peace & love
  • flaming heart = burning love Jesus had for all people
  • hole pierced through heart = shows soldier piercing Jesus’ side with a spear after he died
  • holes in hands where Jesus was nailed to cross
  • one hand pointing to heart to draw attention to it
  • crown of thorns around heart = represent crown placed on Jesus’ head when mocked by soldiers at crucifixion
• The sacred heart statue is a reminder of the total love that Jesus had for all people

  • this love was demonstrated when Jesus accepted his death in order to save humanity
  • this is why the statue includes symbols of the crucifixion
• Jesus ‘fulfilled‘ the law by following it and making it more perfect

  • he developed the law by enhancing god’s teachings
  • he taught that it is more important to focus on people’s attitudes = if they have the right attitude, they will do the right thing
  • eg Jesus taught not only to avoid murder, but to have a loving attitude & avoid getting angry with others
• through his teachings, Jesus gave his followers a new & deeper understanding of the law

  • law = the commandments and rules that god gave to the Jews, found in the Old Testament
• in the beatitudes & the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus teaches christians how to live a moral life that is pleasing to god
• Jesus’ approach to the law shown through the beatitudes = form the first part of the sermon on the mount

  • this is a sermon Jesus gave to his followers to teach them how to live a life dedicated to pleasing God
• the beatitudes are a series of statements in which Jesus blessed certain attitudes or approaches to living & said how people with these attitudes will be rewarded:

  • ‘blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth’
  • ’blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see god’
  • ’blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy’
• the parable of the sheep & the goats is a bible story in which Jesus tells his followers that in serving & caring for others, they are serving god

  • it shows Christians how they should respond to those in need