I missed posting through the whole month of November, which was a crazy month. Today I'm posting not my words, but the words of Scott Carter in his sermon yesterday, started in media res:
This is what Christmas is all about. A dirty, nasty human situation, and the fiery magnificent overwhelming indescribable presence of God thrust together.
That's Christmas.
God sees this mess, this spinning mess out in front of him and goes, "Stop." Where His finger comes down is that Baby. Crying, icky baby Baby, but God. In the middle of a man and woman who don't know what they're going to do with their life, in the middle of a dirty manger. God.
That's Christmas.
In the midst of all our filth and ick and yuckiness, our lack of control, our overwhelming burdens, our "I don't know what I"m going to do with my life, I don't know how I'm going to handle this, I don't know what's going to happen to me, I don't know what's going to happen to my family, everything is broken, everything is dirty, I don't understand it, I can't do anything about it," God says "Stop."
That's Christmas.
God in the middle of us. It is a human story, but it is a human story told by God.
This is Christmas.
Immanuel.
God with us.
Donna K. Fitch
Renaissance Soul, Octopus Outlook