“Advent teaches us that God does not come with power to make the
world right. God comes (…), and hope for a new world is born in a nondescript
cow stall in an obscure town called Bethlehem. God arrives by way of the human
sweat and blood in which everyone is born. God comes (…) to save the world, not
by what the world calls power but by the subversive and often hidden power of
self-giving love. God comes (...), and hope is born.” James Harnish (The Upper
Room)
Waking up
this morning to these words made me feel both challenged and inspired.
Christmas is coming. As each day passes, more and more of us are leaning in,
trying to get a peek. Something is happening in the manger. Not a silent night
by any stretch of the imagination. It’s labor. The human experience of agony,
relief, anxiety, and hope all occupying the same space. Is the product of this all
too human dawning what we expect? What now?
A helpless
babe; is that all? This infant won’t survive the night without constant care.
He has no way to maintain his own body heat, so his mother wraps him tightly in
whatever rags are close at hand. He will starve unless someone gives of
themselves to supply him with food. He can’t protect himself. Someone will need
to stand up for him when he can’t stand up for himself. He has no means, no
shelter, and no strength; yet, to us a savior is born?
The messengers
sing. They sing glory to the new born king, born is the king of Israel, today a
savior is born – a message heard in pastures close by and in cities far away.
Fear not??? I wonder if the fear we are trying to prevent is fear of an
unexpected message given by a stranger, or fear that our savior is a helpless
babe, fear that our savior needs a great deal of saving himself.
This
helpless babe seeks to heal our lives by the wonders of his love. Maybe the
fact that he comes to us in this neediest of forms is just the balm we need for
our sin sick souls. Are we not moved by the faces of need? Are we not called by
a needy savior to new ways of life – life abundant? To the face of need, wise
men bring presents. To the face of need, a community brings presence. When we
lean into the manger, do we see the face of need – a helpless babe? Do we feel
challenged and inspired by an infant lowly, an infant holy?
The face of
need is breaking into my world this Christmas. The food pantry gave out 150
bags of food last night. The face of need waited patiently at our doors
throughout the cold and breezy day. The face of need will show up again – we
will eat a hot meal together at 5:30 on December 22nd. It is a wondrous
love that calls us together – makes community where we imagine competition. As
I gaze upon the landscape of our community beside the faithful servants of this
church, we notice together needs that overwhelm us. The helpless babe shows us
our fears as well as our capacity for love – both are so powerful.
The helpless
babe challenges and inspires us to embrace the power of love in spite of the
power of fear. My prayer is that we see the holy within the lowly in the
Christmas moment and in the moments that follow. God give us new hope. Show us
that our offerings of presents and presence are truly the beginnings of
relationships. Nurture in us the willingness to be in relationship. Open our
hearts to welcome the helpless babe into our celebrations, into our churches,
into our communities, and into our lives. Make born this day, a savior. Hope;
it’s what’s for Christmas.
Enjoy God,
pg
No comments:
Post a Comment