In Jesus, we see the love, compassion, and mercy of God fully expressed in human flesh. To have seen Jesus is to have seen the Father (John 14:9). Jesus’ embodiment of the very essence of God is what we mean when we say that he is the Incarnate Word of God. His life so completely manifests the goodness of God that it becomes the very expression of God’s salvific will. This is most especially seen upon the cross, as Jesus pours out his life for the salvation of the world. God is love, and love wills the good of the other, even at great expense to itself.

Our faith is not to be a mere abstraction; it must take on flesh. We must go beyond the ‘virtue signalling’ tendency of our age and love with the same perfection as Jesus loves. Jesus’ command to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ (John 13:34) extends even to the ‘least’ of his brothers and sisters. He expresses his love for the poor, the imprisoned, the refugee, the hungry, and the thirsty, so much so that he radically identifies with them. Whatever we do for these ‘least,’ we do to Christ.

Let us see Christ even in those considered the ‘least’. Furthermore, let us be Christ to them. We are called, in our own limited way, to express the Word of God and make it flesh. May our act of service be more than limited offerings of ‘cold charity’; instead, let us learn to love with the same depth of feeling as we see in Christ. May our lives also express God’s love, compassion, and mercy, especially toward those who are the most vulnerable.

by Fr Michael Grace