Christmas Meditation 1: What Wondrous Love is This!
God Desired a Harlot
Saint John Chrysostom
God desired a harlot? What! Really? Well, metaphorically. The incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is like the pure becoming impure, the clean becoming dirty, the eternal becoming subject to time and even death. Why might God do this? Because of God’s love for us. What wondrous love is this!
Here is St. John Chrysostom (347-407 AD) on the wondrous love of God. Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος was the bishop of Constantinople. Today we know it as Istanbul in Turkey. In one of his Christmas sermons, he likened God becoming incarnate within our world to a trick buying sex from a prostitute. This demonstrates how wondrous is God’s love for us.
“God desired a harlot, and how does He act? He does not send to her any of His servants. He does not send any angels or archangels, cherubim or seraphim. No, He Himself draws near to the one He loves, and He does not take her to Heaven, for He could not bring a harlot to Heaven, and therefore He Himself comes down to earth, to the harlot, and is not ashamed. He comes to her secret dwelling place and beholds her in her drunkenness. And how does He come? Not in the bare essence of His original nature, but in the guise of one whom the harlot is seeking, in order that she might not be afraid when she sees Him, and will not run away, and escape Him. He comes to the harlot as a man. And how does He become this? He is conceived in the womb, He grows little by little, as we do, and has intercourse with human nature. And He finds this harlot thick with sores and oppressed by devils. How does He act? He draws nigh to her. She sees Him and flees away. He calls the wise man, saying, ‘Why are you afraid? I am not a judge, but a physician. I come not to judge the world, but to save the world.’ Straightway He calls the wise men, for are not the wise man the immediate first fruits of His coming? They come and worship Him, and then the harlot herself comes and is transformed into a maiden. The Canaanite woman comes and partakes of His love. And how does He act? He takes the sinner and espouses her to Himself, and gives her the signet ring of the Holy Spirit as a seal between them.” (John Chrysostom)
What wondrous love is this!
See: Witnesses to Hope.
What wondrous love is this!
In a previous post, we took a close look at “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” Here we turn to “What wondrous love is this,” by the widely known composer, Anonymous. “What Wondrous Love is This” appears in 240 hymnals.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
Christmas Meditations: What’s Next?
Christmas 1: God Desired a Harlot with St. John Chrysostom
Christmas 2: The Word Became Flesh with St. Augustine
Christmas 3: Truth at Christmas with St. Augustine
Christmas 4: Mean Estate with Martin Luther
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Ted Peters is a Lutheran pastor an emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union., He co-edits the journal, Theology and Science, with Robert John Russell on behalf of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, in Berkeley, California, USA. His single volume systematic theology, God—The World’s Future, is now in the 3rd edition. He has also authored Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society as well as Sin Boldly: Justifying Faith for Fragile and Broken Souls. See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com.
Watch for Ted’s new 2023 book, The Voice of Public Theology, published by ATF Press.
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