this story from the fourth centry but is retold in brian mclaren's book :A generous orthodoxy.
it sums up how eastern orthodox church sees the importance of the incarnation. in jesus god came as a human to save all creation. i find it thought provocking and just plain beautiful.

Once apon a time there was a good and kind king who had a great kingdom with many cities. in one distant city , some poeple took advantage of the freedom the king gave them and started doing evil.they profited by their evil and began to fear that the kingwould interver and thro them into jail. Eventually these rebeles seethed with hatred for the king. they convinced the citythat everyone was better offwithout the king, and the city declared its independance from the kingdom.
but soon with everyone doing whatever they wanted, disorder reigned in the city.there was violence,hatred,lying , oppression,murder,rape,slavery, and fear.The king thought: what should i do?if i take my army and conquer the city by force, the people will fight against me and i'll have to kill so msany of them, and the rest will only submit through fear or intimidation, which will make them hate me and all i stand for evenmore.how does that help them--to be either dead or imprisoned or secretly seething with rage?but if i leave them alone , they'll destroy each other , and i breaks my heart to think of the pain they're causing and experiencing.
so the king did something very surprising. he took off his robed and dressses in the rags of a homeless wanderer. incognito, he entered the city and began living in a vacant lot lear a garbage dump. he took up a trade--fixing brokenpottery and furniture. whenever people came to him, his kindness and goodness and fairness and respect were so striking that they would linger just to be in his presence. they would tell him their fears and questions, and ask for advice. he told them that the rebels had fooled them, and that the true king had a better way to live , which he exemplified and taught . one by one then two by two then by the hundreds people began to have confidance in him and live in his way.
their influence spread to others, and the movement grew untill the whole city regretted its rebellion and wanted to return to the kingdom again. but ashamed of their horrible mistake , they were afraid to approch the king,believing that he would certanly destroy them for their rebellion. but the king-in-disguise told them the good news: he himself was the king, and he loved them. he held nothing against them, and he welcomed them back into his kingdom, having accomished by a gently, subtle presence what could have never been accomplished through brute force.

-erin