The more I
reflect on life, on the coming of CHRIST in history, on the comings of CHRIST
in our lives, on Advent, on Christmas, and on the Second Coming of CHRIST at
the end of the world, the more I see that as human beings we tend to think that
JESUS comes when we are ready, when we are all prepared, and when we have
everything just perfect so that He will be pleased, and "Christmas magic"
makes everything all right.
But in reality
JESUS came into the world, comes to us in our lives and in each day of our lives,
Christmas comes, and He will come again when we are in distress, when we
recognize that life and the world around us are in a mess, when we least expect
Him and are almost ready to give up hope, and when we need Him the most.
Martha Stewart
was nowhere near the First Christmas.
And BABY JESUS' first place to sleep was not a cradle in Nazareth but in
a manger at Bethlehem. Until the angels
heralded His coming to some simple shepherds working the midnight shift, the
LORD of LIFE slipped in quietly in a lowly stable or cave in Bethlehem while
everyone was preoccupied with the census of the oppressive Roman
government.
So let us not
lose heart with our imperfections, the imperfection of this world, and the
imperfection of our lives. Let us not
drive ourselves crazy with unrealistic expectations. Let us, instead, acknowledge the messiness in
our hearts, our lives, our homes, and the world around us and be truly poor in
spirit, which means that we have come to know our need for God and cry out,
"COME, LORD JESUS. WE DESPERATELY
NEED YOU!"
© Copyright 2013
by Arlene B. Muller (Arlene Clare Muller, OSF).
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