‘Grace Incarnate’

Have you noticed that there is a mournful and even disturbing side to Christmas? In the midst of angels singing in heaven, shepherds bowing before the baby Jesus and wisemen from the East visiting the newborn King with lavish gifts—Jesus is born in poverty; his parents could barely afford to pay their taxes, and Simeon harshly predicts that for Mary the birth of Jesus will be a sword that pierces her heart. All this, I think, is to let us know that Jesus came into a real world—a world where there is loss, disappointment and even mortality. He didn’t come to us on a golden escalator, dine in 5-star restaurants and give us exemptions from our taxes. Jesus lived a real life among us. He enjoyed being with the “sinners and the publicans.” In fact, Jesus seemed to be his happiest when he was with raw humanity. 

Not to trivialize the Christmas story, I believe that is because of what I like to call the “Salamander” principle. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wisemen knew the genius of the salamander. When a salamander suffers the loss of a limb, they grow a new one, albeit a leg or tail, with skin, bone and muscle. And so do we. Did you know that every cell in our body is replaced every 7-10 years? There is not a single cell in our body today that we had when were born. We not only replaced limbs with new bone and muscle, we’ve replaced every cell in our body perhaps a dozen times. 

 The joy of Christmas is that grace is incarnated in our losses and in our grief. God comes to us through our losses and manifests himself in the empty and missing parts of our lives. Join us on December 22 as we celebrate the 4th Sunday in Advent at 9 a.m. at Montgomery Center. 

As a reminder, we will not be meeting on Sunday, December 29 but will see you again on January 5.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas. See you in the new year!