The Christmas story has a lot of travel. Mary and Joseph make a hazardous journey to Bethlehem
This isn’t usually how we think of Christmas, however. For many of us, the picture in our mind is as still as the nativity set. We see the shepherds and magi, together standing to adore the infant Jesus. Mary and Joseph are fixed in watchful devotion. The scene is cozy, peaceful and, above all, unmoving. As we are drawn in to the tranquility of the scene, it is easy to forget that we are called to go.
We may think that we go, already. Certainly our holiday season is full of action; plenty of shopping, appointments and parties. December is notoriously busy. But in all of our activity, the question we should ask ourselves is, “Am I going to see the Christ child?” Is our rushing around bringing us closer to the side of the manger, and nearer to the celebration of a birth that is still changing the world.
As much as we rightly enjoy the beauty and sweetness of the season, we should never forget that our call - the call of the angels, the call of the star, the call of Christ – is to leave our comfortable places. We hear a radical summons to get up and to go; to make a journey that may not be easy or secure, but will place us at the heart of service to God and to the world.
This Christmas, there will be people all over the world who are in need; in need of food and shelter, in need of presents, in need of grace. If we want to find the infant king, we will look among them. Jesus sojourned into our world for all of these, and we are sent out for the same reason. When we are willing to sacrifice the pieces of our lives that we hold dear, when we rise up to answer the call, when we take the journey into the world to love and serve in Christ’s name, we will always find ourselves beside the manger with all who have come to adore Him.
Blessings, Rev. Nancy
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