On the Enfleshed Word

God-as-Christ,
We are your body; you know our fleshly pain and our fleshly rapture.
Bring to us new vitality,
that we may live as Christ lived,
wholly with the assurance of faith in God,
We ask these things in the name of God-Enfleshed, Jesus our Christ.
Amen.

What does it mean when we say that Christ is the incarnate Word, the Word "made flesh"?

There are multiple aspects of a "word" that can be considered. There is, first of all, the spoken word, the combination of sounds that when spoken together convey a particular meaning. With the spoken word, there is not only meaning conveyed through the choice of word, but also through the tone of voice used. In a way, a word becomes "enfleshed" when it is spoken; the speaking emerges from a combination of muscular contractions, passages of air, and obstacles created by the tongue. The body is needed for the message to be conveyed.

But a word may also be an abstract idea, the concept represented by our language of symbols. Is Christ an idea?

And when a word is written down, it is again embodied. A word that is written with graphite, or ink—or even wax and pigment—is made using the "flesh" of creation, the "body" of the world. Could it even be said that this earthly flesh is the body of God? For it was non-existent until God birthed it, and even humankind was made flesh from dirt.