ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
December 21, 2021
We know the stories of those who came to see the child. Shepherds and Magi were the best known, but there were probably others who came upon these new parents and their baby. I was riding in the elevator a few weeks back with a mother carrying a tiny baby in a sling across her chest. In the 35 seconds we were on the elevator, probably ten questions were asked about the baby, along with all the funny baby noises that people made as they commented about how beautiful he was. Babies seem to be magnets. Yet for some reason, Christmas creates a drop by mentality. What I mean is the tendency to swing by the manger on Christmas Eve, glance at the baby, sing a quick song, and then return to life as it was. The great novelist, Toni Morrison, spoke at a commencement in 1979, where she said, “You are moving in the direction of freedom and the function of freedom is to free somebody else.” The birth of the Christ child suggests a movement toward a new understanding of freedom, but also love, mercy, kindness, hospitality, generosity, peace and gentleness. We can swing by to Ooh and Awe, with the intention of taking on zero responsibility. Or we can join the movement and be participants in the work that includes love, mercy, kindness, hospitality, generosity, peace and gentleness. Let’s make Christmas a transformative and lasting experience because we encountered the child.
Holy God, use the joyful silliness that comes with seeing a newborn as the starting place of a whole new life that is lived for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
