Growing up, I was often taught that holiness and grace are two distinct aspects of God or moments in God’s dealings with sinful humanity. God’s holiness was almost always discussed in spatial terms, God’s being far from sin and evil. The church’s holiness was often viewed similarly as a physical separation from sin and evil. As much as possible one should isolate oneself, the logic went, from contamination unless specifically called to be a missionary to whatever group. Even then, the would-be missionary was expected to stay inside a spiritual haz-mat suit, “witnessing” while never being affected by the outside.
While there are plenty of sciptural passages which utilize spatial imagery for God’s holiness, with Ezekiel’s account of God’s glory leaving the temple being one of the most haunting, there is also a sense in which God’s holiness is revealed in His persistent presence with sinful Israel. As Hosea claims in a passage describing God’s compassion, God is “the Holy One in your midst” (11:9). God’s being “the Holy One” is revealed in His refusal to be anything other than Israel’s compassionate God.
Additionally, throughout the scriptural narrative, God sometimes punishes by sending away, but God goes with those who are punished. For example, God kicks Adam and Eve out of the garden, but He still enjoys intimate conversations with humanity after this (Gen. 3-4). God sends Israel into exile, but He goes with them and brings them back from the nations (Is. 43, Dan. 3). God is never above the fray, but remans always the Holy One in Israel’s midst.
While remaining scandalous and unexpected, the incarnation thus fits neatly into Israel’s overarching narrative. John no doubt attempted to convey this consistency in God’s character with his words, “the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us” (John 1:14), linking the incarnation with the Tabernacle, where God dwelled in the midst of Israel during their wilderness wanderings. God’s presence among a sinful people was nothing new, John realized; His coming in the flesh was.
The incarnation, then, is the clearest revelation of what God’s holiness means. God’s holiness is always that of “the Holy One” in our midst. God’s holiness is not ultimately separation, but a distinctness from sin even while persisting in overcoming that very sin through His presence.
The church’s holiness, if it reflects the holiness of God as revealed in Jesus, is similarly not primarily separation. The church’s holiness is a distinctness from sin even while persisting to witness to God’s victory over sin through speech and action.
Incarnational ministry, if it is truly “incarnational,” will be marked by this kind of holiness, the simultaneous presence in the midst of sin and distinctness from sin. Incarnational ministry has no need for spiritual haz-mat suits. Like another prophet with an intimate knowledge of God’s holiness, Jeremiah, we should be affected by sin, but respond with solidarity in repentance. We should be so in the midst of this sinful world while being so focused on the Holy One, that repentance and laments naturally flow out.