“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

“The Pineapple Story” is a book by Otto Koning, a Christian missionary who spent part of his life among a native tribe in New Guinea.

In addition to sharing the gospel with them, he started to grow pineapples.

Once they were ready to be plucked, however, he could never get his hands on even one of the ripe fruits, as the natives would steal them all!

Not only that, but they did not think there was anything wrong in stealing them.

Needless to say Otto was very angry with them. The more they stole, the angrier he got.

He even had a German Shepherd flown in to protect the garden, but this resulted in the natives being even more alienated from him.

It should come as no surprise that during his first seven years there, not a single person chose to follow Jesus.

While on furlough in the United States, Otto attended a conference, where he was encouraged to hand ownership of the garden to God and not treat it as though it were his own personal property. He promptly obeyed.

Shortly after his return to New Guinea, one day the natives commented: “You’ve become a Christian recently, haven’t you?”

Otto asked: “Why do you say that?”

They replied, “Because you don’t get angry anymore when we steal your pineapples.”

All of a sudden Otto realized that his life had not reflected his message.

The natives had heard the name of Jesus incanted as he preached, but they had not witnessed Christ incarnate in the way he practiced his faith.

“Incarnation” literally means “to become flesh” or “to be embodied.”

Jesus is known as the Word made flesh, God in human form, a message that is at the heart of Christmas.

Martin Luther said that Christians are to be “little Christs” to their neighbours. In other words, observers see Jesus “in the flesh” or incarnate in the lives of those who bear his name. As Jesus himself said in John 13:34-35: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

When followers of Jesus love one another as he did, everyone will see them:

forgive their enemies as he did even as he lay dying on the cross;

show compassion to anyone in need as he did, making no distinction between those who followed his faith and those who did not;

mix and mingle with the so-called “sinners” and “outcasts” of today as he did with tax collectors and prostitutes in his day…

Get the picture?

Malcolm Muggeridge said of Mother Teresa: “In her face I trace the very geography of Jesus’ Kingdom; all the contours and valleys and waterways. I need no other map.”

May Jesus become even more incarnate in acts of kindness and compassion in the lives of his “little Christs” this Christmas and always.

Incarnation Trumps Incantation. Every Time.