par·a·dox 1: a tenet contrary to received opinion
2 a: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true
b: a self-contradictory statement that at first seems true
c: an argument that apparently derives self-contradictory conclusions by valid deduction from acceptable premises
--Merriam-Webster Dictionary
These two stanzas from English poems express the paradox of God becoming a human. But most of all, they point to the glorious meaning of that reality.
What babe new born is this that in a manger cries?
Near her lowly bed his happy mother lies.
Oh, see the air is shaken with white and heavenly wings—
This is the Lord of all the earth, this is the King of Kings.--Richard Watson Gilder, A Christmas Hymn (Stza 4)
Behold the Father is His daughter’s Son.
The bird that built the nest is hatched therein,
The old of years an hour hath not out run.
Eternal life to live doth now begin.
The Word is dumb—the mirth of heaven doth weep,
Might feeble is, and force doth faintly creep.--Robert Southwell (1560-1593), The Nativity Of Christ (Stza 1)
As this postcard expresses, my wish for is that the "sweet story of old [might] bring Peace to you."
Vintage Christmas postcards are from my Nativity Collection
