Lucy and the Incarnation
Lucy and the Incarnation
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/australopithecus-afarensis-lucy-species
The universe has existed for around 15 billion years, Earth for roughly 5 billion years, and humans as we know them for 300,000 years. However, our evolutionary ancestors have existed for approximately 3 to 5 million years.
Do we understand where God was in the mix all those years? Do we know where God is in the mix today?
Or, as Tina Turner would say, "What's Love Got to Do With It?" This question, often posed in the context of human relationships, is also pertinent to our understanding of God's role in the evolutionary process.
Lucy's story begins in late November 1974 in Ethiopia, a momentous discovery that shook the foundations of our understanding of human evolution. The skeleton of a petite female, affectionately nicknamed Lucy, was unearthed, opening a window into our ancient past.
Over 40 years later, Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy) is one of the best-represented species in the hominin fossils discovered. Lucy is not only a glimpse into humans' past as they evolved but also of God in the universe.
We are embarking on the season of preparing for and celebrating the Incarnation of Jesus. This profound theological concept signifies God's decision to become human, to dwell among us, and to share in our human experience.
Was there a need for incarceration for Lucy and her ancestors? Yet God was with her and others.
Think of our Catholic Social Teachings—Joseph Cardijn's work and Vatican II's purpose. All of this is because of the Incarnation. Think about Jesus' Incarnation and the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount and the parables are the roots and foundations of all Catholic social principles and teachings.
But the purpose of the Incarnation, Christ becoming human, is to fulfill the Law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17; Galatians 4:5). What did we humans discover and realize about what became the "law" that sparked the incarnation? "What's Love Got to Do With It?"
Ever wonder, after millions of years, what was the tipping point for God to become human?
As we enter the season of the Incarnation, St. Francis has much for us to think about. In fact, that manger scene you have in your house or front yard is all because of St. Francis.
"Francis observed the birthday of the child Jesus with inexpressible eagerness over all other feasts, saying, 'It is the feast of feasts, on which God, having become a tiny infant, clung to human breasts.' When the question arose about eating meat that day, since Christmas was a Friday, he [Francis] replied to Brother Morico, 'You sin, brother, calling the day on which the child is born to us a day of fast. It is my wish that even the walls should eat meat on such a day; and if they cannot, they should be smeared with meat on the outside.'" ~ Thomas of Celan
Please think of the situation in time for St Francis and what those words meant to him.
The Incarnation is the physical birth of Love among us. We believe in a God who is Love. But the Incarnation is about Love and Love's decision to become fully part of the universe by becoming human. Scripture tells us that the human race has been made in the image of God, who is Love (Gn 1:27). So God became human because we, as humans, didn't understand the meaning of "made in the likeness of God," which is something we, as humans, have control over. But maybe, just maybe, Lucy and her relatives understood it better than we do.
The reason we have Christian social principles and teachings is also found in the Franciscan understanding of Christmas. We believe that God's Incarnation is not a fleeting event of the past but a continuous presence committed in the flesh in human history, in our individual lives. The Incarnation is not just for a moment in the past, but for now—always and forever.
Teilhard, the Jesuit Paleontologist, envisioned: "In the future, the only religion possible is the religion which will teach us, in the very first place, to recognize, love, and serve with passion the universe of which we form a part."
Imagine Lucy, our ancient ancestor, as she walked the Earth, hand in hand with God. Her journey, a testament to the enduring presence of the divine in our lives, is a story that resonates with us all.