Father, as I sit here before you on this Christmas eve, I am reminded how you, the Great Storyteller, wrote yourself into the story of man. Many people, those who do not know you, have said, “What if God were one of us?” And you did! You became one of us! This story was always your story, of which we are a part, yet you were not focused on yourself and your part in it, you were always focused on us and our well-being. You humbled yourself and made yourself a human baby, the baby Jesus. God with us. What humility of heart you have! A human baby! Completely helpless! You, the Creator of the universe, completely helpless! Completely reliant on the care of a mother and a father to continue to exist. As Jesus grew, you walked among us, appearing exactly like one of us. So ordinary, that John the Baptist (a relative of Jesus!) said, “I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:33, 34) He was so ordinary that he was able to walk among us and no one recognized him as someone special, except by direct revelation from you, Father. He lived for 30 years like this. There were hints that he was no ordinary child when he sat with the elders in the Temple and asked them questions. They were amazed at his knowledge, but they still did not recognize him. Yet when the time came for the beginning of his ministry, he began by a quiet miracle at the wedding in Cana – turning water into wine for the benefit of all those who attended. Only the servants at the wedding knew what he had done. He was not here for popularity or notoriety; he was here to serve. Just like you, Father. You live to serve those whom you have created, experiencing joy in what you can do for us. The Great Storyteller is the servant of all. And you call all of us to be servants to those whom our lives touch. Your kingdom is not one of pomp and circumstance around the person of you. It is a kingdom of service. You desire to be the Servant King, serving us, and you desire that we be like you, serving all those whom our lives touch. You love us with an amazing, inexorable, eternal love. You want us to pass along this love to others, just as you love us. And you demonstrated your great love for us by the sacrifice of your only begotten son, Jesus. At your bidding and will, he went to the cross at the end of his ministry and gave his life for us. He took our sin upon himself, the sin of the whole world, and died that we might live. This is how you demonstrated your great love for us. We should have been punished for our sin, but instead you punished Jesus, turning your back on him because you could not look upon sin. For the first time in his human life, he experienced what it was like to be completely cut off from you. In a word, he experienced hell. Yet, true to your nature, that was not the end of the story. You accepted his sacrifice, and on the third day raised him to a new life. On the cross, we who believe, died with him. On the third day, we who believe, arose to new life in him. Eternal life. A life of service to our great King and to each other. Yes, you intertwined our stories with yours, and the result was eternal life for us. That is just like you, Father. Doing the impossible, bringing life out of death. Showing us in no uncertain terms what you are like and what you want us to become. May our lives, may my life, be dedicated to serving you and others. May my story be intertwined with yours and the stories of many others, so that the tapestry of Life you are creating in heaven and on earth might be complete and whole. On the other side, when we pass from this mortal life, we will see the beautiful, eternal gift you are creating. A gift to bless all who love your appearing. Amen.
