Christmas is for me always about the vulnerability of God. God choosing to be bound by the same limitations all humans experience, which begins at birth as fragile, vulnerable babies.
Father Richard Rohr writes about this in one of his daily meditations found at www.cac.org.
For the Christian, spiritual power is always hidden inside of powerlessness, just as God was hidden and yet revealed in a defenseless baby. If God is ever to be loved and shared, God had to risk both human embodiment and human vulnerability. This is the only thing that enchants and evokes the human heart. We do not properly fall in love with concepts or theological ideas (although some do try); persons fall in love with other persons. In a weak little child, God is both perfectly hidden and perfectly revealed—and fully lovable.
Our Christmas challenge is to push beyond the Christmas card scenes and sentimentalism to this notion that our spiritual power as Christians is found in the powerlessness of the Christ child. Our spiritual strength begins here, and in our own confession that we cannot control our lives, and that we need God. This makes Christmas more than a season, but a way of life.
Grace Always,
Dave
1 comment:
Dave, I'm struck by the juxtaposition of this post and the one that follows.
Vulnerability - be careful what you pray for.... I am thankful for the safety of all through this unsettling event.
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