The Improbable Sacrifice
A Radical Act of Divine Reconciliation
I haven’t written an Advent reflection in a while, which got me thinking about the Christmas season and Jesus’ story. Without Jesus, there is no Christmas.
I’ve also been thinking about differentiation and “onlyness.” The birth of a child whose life becomes the singular event around which history is measured is an improbable story.
How does this make sense?
“Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”
Throughout history, children have been sacrificed in an attempt to appease imaginary gods (I’ve visited sites in the Middle East where this occurred, and unfortunately, it still happens to the preborn).
This time, something was different. God became a human child who surrendered his divinity, became a servant, and offered himself as a sacrifice so we could be reconciled to him.
“It was a feeding trough in a stable. The story wouldn't be as good if it was a suite at the Four Seasons.” – Austin Shaw
He is the only divine being to sacrifice himself for others. There are no substitutes because he is the only God who did something like this for people like us. It is improbable.
We don’t have to do anything to appease him. He did it himself. It’s different, life-changing, inconceivable, incomprehensible, and improbable.
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