The Creator became little

Friends in Christ,

God can do whatever he wants, he is all powerful. As St. Alphonsus says, by a mere nod of his head, he created heaven and earth out of nothing. And if he wanted to, he could destroy the immense machinery of the universe by a glance. God is all powerful.

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And yet despite this power of the Creator, there is a surprising rashness in mankind. Proud sinners flagrantly sin against God, defying him every day. And this is us.

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Suppose we would see some insect, say a tiny ant. And if this ant decided to make an attack against a soldier, we would think this is ridiculous and fool-hardy. Well, how much more foolhardy it is, for man to make an assault against his Creator by sinning.

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Here we are beginning the season of Advent. And we are preparing to celebrate a surprising event: The reckless and ungrateful sinners of this world are the very ones, for whom the Son of God comes down to save, by making himself a humble child.

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God becomes a child who needs milk to live, who is so feeble that he cannot even feed himself. The Eternal Word in coming into the world, wishes to conceal his strength. St. Cyril says: ‘Behold he who governs the heavens;’ ‘Behold God in swaddling cloths, unable to even stretch out his hands.’

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When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Egypt, he could not even walk, he had to be carried. As St. Bonaventure says, when they returned from Egypt, Jesus was too large to be carried, but too little to make a long journey, and so they often had to stop and rest. God reduces himself to this weak and lowly state, for us.

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There he is in the shop at Nazareth; he busily works, helping Joseph as a carpenter. The boy Jesus exhausting himself to shape some piece of wood, laboring a whole day on it. He, who could create it out of nothing in a glance.

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A God then, has become so little and so weak. Why did he do this? To make himself loved.

Advent is a time to love this Child as he deserves.