The Greatest Wonder of All

"All the kitsch to be found in Christian life and Christian art arises from a failure to take the Incarnation seriously." -Hans Urs von Balthasar

(kitsch: mass produced art in poor taste; often characterized by an excessive sentimentality)

If we think of Christmas as God donning a human costume to playact as a person, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. If we think of Jesus being born just so he can grow up and can die for our sins, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. If we think of Jesus as Superman flying around being God all over the place, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. And if we have a kitschy view of the Incarnation, we will have a kitschy and cartoonish, cheap, and sentimental Christian life. But if we can approach the mystery of the Incarnation as the greatest wonder of all, we can find the door to the substantive faith that is the object of our deepest longing.