Pope Francis said on Sunday that Christ’s Incarnation shows that God wants to live with us and in us. Speaking at the Angelus on Jan. 2, he described Christmas as an invitation to see the world from God’s perspective.
“Dear brothers and sisters, often we keep our distance from God because we think we are not worthy of him for other reasons. And it is true. But Christmas invites us to see things from his point of view,” he said.
“God wishes to be incarnate. If your heart seems too contaminated by evil, if it seems disordered, please, do not close yourself up, do not be afraid: he will come. Think of the stable in Bethlehem. Jesus was born there, in that poverty, to tell us that he is certainly not afraid of visiting your heart, of dwelling in a shabby life.”
In his live-streamed address, Pope Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel reading, John 1:1-18, which proclaims that “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
He said: “And this is the word: to dwell. To dwell is the verb used in today’s Gospel to signify this reality: it expresses a total sharing, a great intimacy. And this is what God wants: he wants to dwell with us, he wants to dwell in us, not to remain distant.” Read more …