Liturgy of Week 3

An Invitation into this Space:

Christmas was not the introduction of God’s presence. 

God has always been present. 

Christ represents God experiencing our world with us in a tangible way. 

God experienced hunger.

God experienced thirst.

God experienced nakedness.

God experienced pain.

The Architect of the Cosmos was born helpless to a carpenter and his wife. 

God was being present in a new way.

Meditate on the Words of this Scripture:

“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”

Luke 2:17-18 NIV

A Reflection:

What exactly did the shepherds see when they peered into the place God had arrived so tangibly? 

As they gazed upon the face of this baby, did they feel a sense of forgotten familiarity?

Did they, in some way, sense that this newborn knew them?

Did they get the same feeling when they saw a sheep that had been lost for days return?

Did they get the same feeling when the morning sun warmed their faces after the cool night? Or when a gentle breeze blew across their backs on a scorching middle eastern day?

Did they get this feeling when they were starving and homeless in the fields and a stranger offered them food?

I bet they did. I bet the sight of this infant triggered within them every small encounter with the Divine they ever felt. I bet the sheep recognized their shepherd.

A Benediction:

I have a love/hate relationship with the Christmas season. Christmas is my favorite time of year! But, it often highlights how alone reality gets.

Honesty about personal experience is not treasured in most places. Socially, it’s more acceptable to respond that you are “good” than ask for help. On the other extreme, we glorify mental health issues and worship anything we can use to stay stuck. I can tell you from experience: actual depression isn’t fun! 

What is it about our culture that makes it impossible at times to be authentic? When Jesus arrived on Christmas, it was an actual birth; full of pain and pushing. Then, he spent the next 33 years living one of the most authentic lives ever lived. Then one night on his way to pray:

“Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”(Matthew 26:38) 

See what Jesus did there? He was honest about his experience. He didn’t put the responsibility on his disciples; he saved that for his talk with his Father. But he did ask for company. Jesus asked for community while he struggled. Jesus was honest.