Why God Wanted a Body: Incarnational Mysticism, Advent, and the God Who Drew Near

Why did God choose a body?He could have remained distant. He could have spoken only from heaven. He could have arrived in power and fire. Instead, the infinite God became an infant.In this Advent episode, I explore incarnational mysticism and the heart of the Christian claim that God chose to enter human life fully. God did not come to change His mind about humanity. He came so that we might change our minds about God. The Incarnation reveals a God who draws near, who becomes knowable, touchable, and present within the ordinary realities of human life.This reflection looks at why Christ came as a poor child, why love always moves toward proximity, why mysticism happens in the body rather than outside of it, and why God chose hiddenness, smallness, and vulnerability as the way to reveal Himself. We also reflect on the womb as the first temple of the Incarnation and why Advent is a season of attention rather than spiritual performance.If God feels distant this Advent, this episode offers a different possibility. God may not be absent. God may simply be coming quietly, gently, and close.