Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (NRSV)
Song: O Come, All You Unfaithful (lyrics here)
Reflection
Christmastime is a season where we often feel we have to “have it all together.” Houses and decorations have to be immaculate, presents well-chosen and thoughtful, family gatherings happening with nary a hiccup…this can be a time of year when we feel a lot of pressure to be perfect.
One year at our church the sanctuary decorating committee had a unique idea, and it was one that created quite a stir on the first Sunday of Advent. People came into the worship space, accustomed to a gorgeous display of decorations and lights to mark the season, but this particular year they found something vastly different. In the sanctuary that year was…a lot of junk. Shopping carts tipped over, cardboard boxes scattered about, trash strewn about the front of the sanctuary—it was a mess! You could tell as people came in that they were upset at first, until the reality of what was happening started to dawn on them. Their countenance shifted when they realized that up at the front, sitting squarely in the center on all the mess, was a manger. The message started to sink in—that Jesus was born into a mess and he comes into our mess as well—and it ended up being one of the most powerful Advent seasons we ever had.
How good it is to know that Jesus comes to us just as we are, in the midst of our mess, both external and internal. That truth should bring us to our knees in gratitude—Christ doesn’t ask us to clean ourselves up before welcoming him into our lives. The same one born into a dirty stable is willing to be born into our lives despite all the things we struggle with that leave us feeling like a failure. He doesn’t come to shame, but to transform.
If you resonate with that need for transformation today, rejoice! The one who is faithful calls the unfaithful to himself to “strengthen you to the end.” (v. 8)
O come, barren and waiting ones
Weary of praying, come
See what your God has done
Spend some time in prayer being honest with God about where you are spiritually and the things with which you struggle most right now. Use your imagination to picture that first Christmas and the chaos and mess into which Jesus was born…how can you invite him into what you’re dealing with right now? How might you enter a deeper realization that he isn’t asking you to “clean yourself up” before inviting him in, that he’s willing and eager to meet you right where you are, just as you are?