They are very different birth stories… last night’s depicted in the scene we set up here with the children… and read and heard in words from the Gospel of Luke and sang in familiar Christmas carols…
And today’s birth story from John’s Gospel of the word/voice of God that brings all creation into being, becoming flesh and blood of humanity, full of glorious grace and truth; light and life for all people, making known the unseen God, from whom we receive grace upon grace!
Both are beautiful and of course connected, one full of earthy details of a family birth story and God’s story of incarnation, the other an expansive hymn of all that this God in flesh means for us and for the world, in what some term, deep incarnation.
One means in part, never is any birth insignificant, every child in any circumstance joined to God in the flesh, and the care and wellbeing of every child, God’s and our common concern and purpose in this world of God with us…
Jennifer Henry, Executive Director of KAIROS, the Canadian ecumenical peace, justice and environmental coalition in which we are members, writes in her Christmas message:
Dear Friends, In days leading up to Christmas, I walked through the streets of Bethlehem with Palestinians for whom it is home. In this place of present day occupation, where people struggle to live in dignity and peace, you can’t help but reflect on the meaning of the story of Christmas. How is the good news of so many, many years ago revealed in our day, whether in Bethlehem,… (or anywhere in this world).
The answer came to me through the children. The ones who played peek-a-boo with me from their mother’s laps when we visited the women’s groups. The ones who tugged at my sleeves in the markets asking me to buy trinkets. The ones who play in the shadow of the separation wall, or who walk through groups of soldiers with machine guns as if it was the most normal of things—because it is.
God entered our world in the fragile frame of a child. Not only to reveal the extraordinary—the (Holy One) of Peace—in human history, but to reveal the divine in the ordinary, to affirm the divine spark, the inherent value, in every child, in every human being. Remembering the Child born in the manger means remembering every child, and striving to make the world a worthy home for each precious life.
As we gather in churches, at dinner tables, around trees, or on walks (through the snow) - however we might celebrate - let us re-dedicate ourselves to a world of truth, justice and equity, where peace can truly be born. Let us strive to honour every child by creating a world worthy of the divine spark in each person. In many ways, our children are leading us.
Every child in any circumstance joined to God in the flesh, and the care and wellbeing of every child and human being, God’s and our common concern/purpose in this world of God with us…
And the other like it, meaning in part that in the flesh of every person, and everything in all creation, is the gracious, creative Word of God’s truth and light and life… grace upon grace…
It is those scenes I have been reflecting on over the past week, or I am seeing them now through new deep incarnation eyes…
A child last night when we found the baby Jesus and had him placed in the manger scene all tucked in with Mary and Joseph and I was talking about the word “Emmanuel,” God with us… she pointed at the tiny crocheted Jesus and said, “God…” and I said, “Yes, Jesus is God with us.” She smiled, knowing.
A visit on Monday with an elder, struggling more each time with awareness, repeating with great concern on her face, that she can’t remember - who I am, where she is, apologizing over and over, no matter how much I assure her she doesn’t have to… it is not her fault, but she says, I’m sorry… a body and mind breaking down in the flesh… I try to have us talk about present things, the Christmas tree in front of us, the table set for dinner that we sit at… but there is only momentary relief…
And so I ask if I can read the Christmas story from Luke, the one we know best… and she listens, and says that she remembers this story… the look on her face of staring into the distance, trying to pull back fragments floating in front of her that she knows… after a time, I ask if we could share Communion, and for a moment she seems to know, and then in another she is apologizing for not remembering. But I set out the cup and small plate, pour the wine and set out two pieces of bread, and I pray a few short verses of the liturgy, God be with you… lift up your heart… and she mumbles parts of the responses with me… and Jesus’ words about the bread and wine, body and blood, God in the flesh, connect in some way, something she can taste and see… and the Lord’s prayer, joining me in the words, they are in her flesh and bones, and so also the action of taking and eating and drinking, the body of Christ given for you, the blood of Christ shed for you; and it quiets her for a time, and she says, thank you, thank you, thank you… and to words that God bless and keep her and give her peace… she says, “Peace be with you! God bless you!” Blessing one another, as God in flesh, broken, fragile, deteriorating, glorious Word made flesh, full of grace and truth, the unseen God, known, grace upon grace.
And last night again, one of the musicians, who was scheduled to play last year, but on the way to the church suffered a medical incident that prevented them from getting here, leaving them hospitalized for a time of great fear and uncertainty for them and their family, whether they would recover, be able to work and play music again, talking about what it was like to come back last night, to be here and play, beautifully, gloriously, for Christmas eve, body almost fully recovered, God in flesh made manifest… grace upon grace. In every story and scene, in every human circumstance of our lives, from deep grief to glorious joy, God with us, in the flesh, is the Gospel promise of this and every Christmas, to sustain us and this world today and forever. It’s all grace upon grace, in the one who is light and life, truth and grace, born anew today, Christ Jesus, the Saviour. Let is be so, in all our relations. Amen.
