On Christmas morning we are offered God in the ordinary. Yet we admire the gifts wrapped in glittering paper and adorned with ribbons. Are the wrappings meant to make what is really very ordinary look like something special?
Contrast God’s gift to us, the baby Jesus comes barely wrapped at all. God gives us that which is utterly special, but wraps him in ordinariness, so that we won’t be afraid to receive him. And yet…
In Jesus God offers us God-self, God in the ordinary. Wherever we are, geographically, physically, socially, emotionally, God meets us. Often God meets us when and where we least expect it. God meets us when we need help but don’t want to ask. Are we afraid to receive him?
When God meets us we are offered the healing of pain, the sharing of weakness, the removal of oppression, the breaking down of fear, the restoring of community, the ability to live together in peace and harmony. What are we afraid of?
Isaiah said that the people who lived in darkness had seen a great light. Those people recognized their darkness and were longing for the light. Today our society does not acknowledge, does not even recognize, that we are in darkness. No wonder we do not see the light. Is it any wonder we are afraid to receive God? We are afraid to see and acknowledge our need for healing. We are afraid to acknowledge our selfishness, our desire to dominate. These habits harm others and do nothing for the earth.
God’s healing removes the oppression which produces our cheap food, cheap clothes… God’s healing means a fair living wage. Our weaknesses are shared, giving us strength in difficulties. Healing removes fear, enmity, jealousy, so that people live peacefully in community. In 2022 may we learn to receive God in the ordinary.