December 25, 2011 (Christmas Day)

Revised Common Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 57:7-10; Psalm 98:1-9; Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12); John 1:1-14

The waiting of advent is finally over and at last we can let our joy break forth as we celebrate the gift of God coming among us. We’ve kept awake in anticipation of the unexpected. We’ve felt God drawing near to us as we trusted in the new thing being done, and now we’re ready to celebrate.

We can lift our voices with the sentinels in Isaiah 52:8 who sing for joy as they see the return of the LORD to Zion. With the Psalmist we can sing a new song and make a joyful noise to the LORD for the marvelous things He has done. It feels good to let loose and celebrate after feeling as if the waiting would never end.

However, for many the waiting doesn’t end as they continue searching for a job, hoping for a home, suffering through an illness, enduring a violent conflict, or longing for freedom. For some the waiting has become unbearable and they are no longer able to experience the joy of the season. The anxieties of life have exhausted them or disillusioned them so they feel incapable of making space for the Divine, for the mystery of Word becoming flesh as John so eloquently puts it.

Perhaps we all need to rediscover the joy of this season, for our joy this day comes as we celebrate that God has not withdrawn from the world but came to be immersed in the world. Jesus was born like other babies throughout the world, in the muck of blood, and mucus. He grew up and broke bread with all kinds of people, and loved them all. Jesus encountered misunderstanding, loneliness, rejection, sorrow, torture, and death. This is a season when we should marvel and rejoice that God came to be present with humanity in all of these ways.

In a world where many are tired of waiting and feel powerless to bring about desired change, we are reminded by John that those who believe and call on God's name will receive power to become the children of God. People are often suspicious of power, grasping for power, or struggling with feeling powerless, but Christmas is a time to celebrate the power that is the gift of Jesus, given so that all might have life as children of God.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, “He [the Son of God] is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word”.  This Christmas day may our joy in the gift of Jesus sustain us through all our times of waiting and empower us to continue working for a better world.

By Monica Scheifele, Program Assistant, MCC Canada Ottawa Office