Was Jesus Pro-Life? The Incarnation

For my pro-choice Christian brothers and sisters. Meditations on why the Gospels reveal that Christ was and is pro-life. I’ve had a friend say to me, “But He never spoke about that issue.” Well…true, but the whole Gospel encompasses this issue, the issue of Life. Let us explore, if you will please hear me out. I know that there are many who feel they are doing good by making abortion available, that it is the compassionate thing to do. I am addressing these people with meditations from the Gospel. I hope to do a series of posts, and this is the first.

I’d like to start with the belief in the Incarnation. The Incarnation refers to the mystery and teaching that God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. The Incarnation distinguishes Christians from every other major world religion; there is no other faith that teaches that God took on human flesh. According to Scripture, the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin, Mary, and told her that she was to conceive and bear a son, and she would name Him Emmanuel (God with us). Mary was troubled and had questions, but she said yes, in fact, what she said was, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done unto me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)
This moment, which we call the Annunciation (“announce” is the root and it refers to Gabriel announcing God’s plans to Mary), is not only a real, historical event, but also a paradigm for our interior, spiritual life with God.

Understood this way, the Incarnation is not just something that happened to Mary some two thousand years ago…it is also something that we are called to live here and now, in each day and moment. When we strive to live with Christ, we go about our day living this mystery of the Incarnation. In each moment, we see and experience what God is presenting to us, and—whether it is perceived as “good” or “bad,” whether we have questions and anxieties, or whether the whole, clear path is laid out before us (it’s usually not)—we are called, like Mary, to accept what He offers with joy and in faith. In each moment, Jesus comes to us as a helpless, vulnerable, unborn infant, who needs to be accepted, nurtured, and allowed to grow within our hearts. We can say “yes” or “no.” We often say “no,” and when we do, this is called sin. This is not accepting or being open to spiritually conceiving Him, perhaps not even recognizing it. Buddhism teaches the practice of mindfulness, which simply is living in the moment, being open to what it will bring and accepting all peacefully and with attentiveness. In Christianity, we do this but we also have the joy of doing this with and for Christ, walking with Him and accepting all as if it were Him or coming from His hand. Whenever we say “yes,” we have a part in bearing Christ to the world, just as Mary did.

Evelyn Underhill wrote in her book, Mysticism: “The Incarnation, which is for traditional Christianity synonymous with the historical birth and earthly life of Christ, is…not only this but also a perpetual cosmic and personal process. It is an everlasting bringing forth, in the universe and also in the individual…soul, of the divine and perfect Life.” The Incarnation, then, is of utmost relevance and importance, both in the individual Christian’s life, and in that of the world.
If we extrapolate that and consider the concept of abortion in such a paradigm…where does that leave us? We understand that our external acts most certainly have an effect on our interior life with God. One who lives with Him, and who wants to teach others to do so, does not—cannot—accept abortion as it is a complete cutting off of the life that God wants to live in us. It is a “no” to God, and this “no” is both a grave internal act and an irreversible, external act that results in the loss of precious, human life. It completely cuts off at the source the life of who we are as Christians—the mystery of the Incarnation.

Thoughtful and respectful comments welcome; abusive comments are useless and will not be accepted.

Advertisement