Jesus Blessed History's Losers

Christ came to us as Jesus of Nazareth, wholly human and wholly divine, to show us what it means to be made in God's image. - Madeline L'Engle

If we're being honest, there's something unsettling about Advent--about the idea that God would come crashing into our reality as one of us. 

And what's even more unsettling is how God accomplished this.  

There was no Grecian dramatic and violent birth story here--the eternal Word of God did not spring fully armored from God's forehead.  Nor was the Christ-child born into a royal family, surrounded by guards, protected and highly honored.      

Instead, God chose to enter into history as a tiny baby born to refugees--born without earthly protection, status or favor.  And while we have romanticized this story and sanitized it for easy consumption, the truth of Advent is unsettling and amazing news. 

The eternal Word of God identified with the least of these.  The Christ came to all of us, no matter who we are.  The Savior came to seek and to save those who feel lost, broken, abandoned and alone, which means everyone, everywhere.  

Diana Butler Bass puts it like this: 

Jesus blessed history's losers.  No wonder people all those years ago had listened.  No wonder people all those years ago had listened.  No wonder they remembered and wrote it down. No wonder it is still so powerful two millenia later. 

So, if you are feeling a bit lost during this season of expectation... 

If you are feeling as though the whispered messages of hope you long to hear are being drowned out by shouts of hatred and division... 

If you find yourself looking up at the night sky, wishing for a star to follow... 

Then remember how God came into this world.  Know that because of the way God came into the world we can know that God is with us intimately and tangibly in ways that might be beyond our comprehension but are certainly not beyond our imagination.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.