The Christmas story is full of paradoxes. You may recall from English class that a paradox is a seemingly contradictory statement that, upon further reflection, makes sense (the Greek word for paradox means “to think beyond”). Consider the paradox that the Lord of the Universe came to earth as a helpless child. Don’t miss the irony of baby Jesus sleeping in a feeding trough while Caesar rests comfortably in his cushy palace. What an extraordinary paradox that this Great One became small.
Ephrem (also spelled Ephraim or Ephraem), the Syrian (306-373), lived during the fourth century when heresies flourished in the church. I bring you back to two heresies that caused considerable turmoil in the early church: Arianism, which denied Jesus’ divinity, and Marcionism, which rejected Jesus’ humanity. Ephrem was a poet theologian who chose not to engage heretical movements with elaborate theological rebuttals but relied on poetry (he wrote an estimated three million lines of verse) to dramatize the paradox of God condescending to earth as a child. He arranged his poems in a hymnlike fashion and set them to traditional Syrian folk tunes. Four hundred of his hymns are still in existence. What an ingenious way to teach theology! Don’t argue with your opponents. Have people sing the great truths of the faith, like the mystery or the Trinity or how Jesus can be at one and same time fully divine and fully human.
Ephrem was a master at utilizing paradox in his poetry. To illustrate:
Who have we, Lord, like you—
the Great One who became small,
the Wakeful One who slept,
the Pure One who was baptized,
the Living One who died
the King who abased himself to ensure honor for all.
Blessed is your honor!
Nineteen of Ephrem’s hymns survive that communicate the profound paradox of the divine Word becoming flesh. Here is but a sample:
Heaven is the throne of thy glory,
yet he sat on Mary’s knee.
The earth is his footstool,
yet like a baby, he crawls beside her.
One of Ephrem’s Hymns to the Nativity leads us to pray: