For many of us, this season brings with it a flood of emotions. Some of us might be overcome with Joy, Peace, Hope, and Love as we watch the Advent candles progress each week. Others, full of anxiety and pain as they deal with the death of a loved one, worrying about mounting financial debts, or struggling with tension in their relationships. And let us not forget that we have found ourselves nine months into a pandemic leaving us all tired, stretched thin, and seeking respite from the groundhog-day-cycle life has become for many these days. So, we wait. We wait to hear old stories, and to celebrate, among the joys and sorrows of life, a child born in a manger.
Among the wise men and women, shepherds watching their flock, heavenly angels, and a star, the scriptures remind us that the King of kings was born in a manger, in a cattle stall among the muck of life. Unexpected turns and chaos paint a very scary first Christmas, and yet, there God is. One must say to themselves, if the son of God can arrive in such circumstances, so can truth. So can joy. So can peace. So can love. These stories remind us that God appears to the less than perfect and less than powerful. Sinner or Saint, Adult or Child, Prophet or Shepherd. By appearing to shepherds, God showed God’s willingness to appear to any who will listen with the wonderful message that “unto you a child is born.”
Too often we look for God in the beautiful, in the times and places we set out to seek God. However, Advent reminds us that sometimes God seeks us. Like the prophets of old, we have waited patiently for this Good News. We have tuned our ears beyond the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, and in the stillness of night, have heard the angels sing of a child born in a manger. We have watched things transform all around us. Evergreens now fill our stark homes and places of worship. Lights shine bright and colorful presents pull us in and let us know that something magical is taking place. It’s as if we are embarking on a journey to a destination unknown, but anxiety of not knowing does not fill us. Instead, we are overcome with hope and promise of what is to come. Our waiting. Our listening. Our watching has all been filled with a very simple prayer, a prayer that comes so natural it’s as if we are simply breathing. This breath, this prayer brings forth love, justice, and righteousness. It brings forth new beginnings and celebrates a life well-lived. It brings forth a peace that seems to pass all understanding.
The season of Advent, a season that prepares us for the coming Christ child, will soon come to a close for, “unto us a child is born,” Emmanuel, God with us. The shepherds know. The wisemen and women know. The animals surrounding the manger know. Mary and Joseph know. We know. As Hilda Lachney Sanderson puts it,
“Yes, God, I know it’s Christmas;
I feel it all around,
Not just because of songs I hear
Or snow upon the ground.
I know because my soul is quiet,
Contented and at peace,
As all thoughts born of greed and such
Have suddenly seemed to cease.
I feel a gentle kindness
That is creeping up on me,
And not because of gifts beneath
A lighted Christmas tree.
Yes, God, I’ll try to make it last
Throughout the coming year,
While right now I just warm myself
In Christmas love and cheer.”
Let the warmth of Christmas overtake you. Let the Christmas love and cheer penetrate the darkness within you and within our world. Let God surprise you this season, for we know that the Christ child lives within and among us.
Youth of Geist Christian Church 