Incarnation—What If God was One of Us?

Listen: “One of Us” by Joan Osborne

“One of Us” is a song recorded by Joan Osborne released on November 21, 1995. It was written by Eric Bazilian (of the Hooters), produced by Rick Chertoff, and released as the lead single of Joan Osborne’s Relish album. It peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned three Grammy nominations. It became a top-20 hit in at least twelve other countries. The song addresses various aspects of belief in God by asking a series of questions:

If God had a name what would it be?

And would you call it to his face?

If you were faced with him in all his glory

What would you ask if you had just one question?

What if God was one of us?

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Tryin’ to make his way home?

If God had a face what would it look like?

And would you want to see if, seeing meant

That you would have to believe in things like heaven

And in Jesus and the saints, and all the prophets?

 Every Christmas season Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus, which in theological terms is called The Incarnation of God. Incarnation comes from the Latin verb incarno which means “to make flesh.” Christians believe that God took on flesh and blood, or became human, in the person of Jesus. John’s gospel contains a fascinating verse, “So the Word [John adapting/applying Greek ideas of logos to Jesus] became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness” (John 1:14; NLT).

 I have always been fascinated with this idea that God disguised himself in human form. He shows up in unexpected ways—born in a manger, born in transient housing, born to a poor Jewish Palestinian woman under the suspicion of illegitimacy. Then Jesus, in his ministry, upends religious purity culture by showing up and practicing radical love towards the sick, the poor, the outsider, the sinner, the prisoner, the prostitute, and the wayward—those whom religious people avoided for fear of contamination. Jesus showed up in unexpected ways with “unfailing love,” teaching that we encounter God “in the least of these” (Matthew 25:40).

 I think there is a way to encounter the God of your understanding (to borrow a phrase from the Twelve Step world) that embraces “incarnation” in all things (even while holding to the uniqueness of Jesus, after all every snowflake is unique). I appreciate how Richard Rohr writes about this broader view of “incarnation” in several of his books. On the jacket cover of Rohr’s book The Universal Christ, U2 singer/songwriter, Bono, makes an excellent comment concerning the book: “Rohr sees the Christ everywhere and not just in people. He reminds us that the first incarnation of God is in Creation itself, and he tells us that ‘God loves things by becoming them.’ Just for that sentence, and there are so many more, I cannot put this book down.”

 Perhaps this is the primary way we experience God, not from above, but from within—in nature, in people, in creation—God “disguised” in unexpected ways. Rohr says (The Universal Christ, p. 52):

 When you look your dog in the face, for example, as I often looked at my black Labrador, Venus, I truly believe you are seeing another incarnation of the Divine Presence, the Christ. When you look at any other person, a flower, a honeybee, a mountain—anything—you are seeing the incarnation of God’s love for you and the universe you call home.

 This can also be called the immanence of God—that God is present everywhere and in all things. What if God is immensely immanent, actively at work in all things, even in the wreckage of evil and tragedy—not the cause, but lovingly present? What if God is immensely loving, standing in solidarity with all suffering in all creation as sacrificial love in motion? What if God loves us with radical grace? Rohr reflects again in The Universal Christ:

 Remember again, God loves you by becoming you, taking your side in the inner dialogue of self-accusation and defense. God loves you by turning your mistakes into grace, by constantly giving you back to yourself in a larger shape. God stands with you, and not against you, when you are tempted to shame or self-hatred (p. 79).

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This understanding of “incarnation” opens up every moment, every hour, and every day as an opportunity to experience God’s incarnational presence everywhere.

So what if God was one of us?

Shalom

©realfredherron, 2021