Why That Way?

“He was created of a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy. He, the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute.” ~Augustine

Yesterday marked the first Sunday of Advent. A day for turning our thoughts to the reason we celebrate each year and a time for reflection. As I was pregnant this time last year, I have to say that it gave me a different perspective of the Christmas story than ever before. I got to thinking about how Christ came to earth and why God the Father chose to send His Son the way He did. He certainly did things far differently than I would have. I mean, why chose an unwed teenager to be responsible for the Creator of the Universe? And why on earth, choose childbirth as the method of entry? I know from my own experience that childbirth is not easy and it’s definitely not pretty; and I was surrounded by all of modern conveniences! Oh, and the accommodations? Really? No, seriously. Couldn’t a different family have been late to the inn that night? I can think of hundreds of other ways I would have wanted my son to make his grand entrance.

He could have sent Jesus as a mighty King, arrayed in resplendent robes, mounted on a white horse or, a fierce warrior with the armies of heaven marching at His back. But, He didn’t. The Father could have sent Jesus to a wealthy family, safely locked behind iron gates and protected by dozens of guards; to have walked palatial corridors and been waited on by many servants, accessible only to the elite granted worthy. But, He didn’t. Instead, He came as a helpless, squalling infant, gifted to a teenage peasant girl who was courageous enough to say yes to the God Who could do the impossible. He chose to send His Son, not in a beautifully wrapped gift basket, but rather, through actual childbirth into a dank, filthy, drafty stable to be wrapped in strips of cloth torn from an old garment and placed in a feeding trough for the night. His entry into the world wasn’t marked by a parade in His honor, or a grand party, it was quietly observed by tired livestock and a collection of outcasts from the surrounding hillsides. Was it grandiose or spectacular? No. It was messy and painful and raw and simple and unrehearsed. And yet, it was beautiful and profound and miraculous. God came to earth in the flesh. To live with us. To live life, not as the privileged few, but like the ordinary masses. In the dirt. In the mess of every day. There is something so simplistic in that, so earthy, so real.

So why that way? Because He needed to walk in our footsteps, in order for us to walk in His. He needed to show us that no matter how messy, or filthy, or hectic our lives have become, He can still come in and in that moment bring Life! He can bring Joy! He can reach out and say, “I’ve been there. I have sat in the dirt. I have felt the pain. I walked the road you are walking. I have lived where you live.” He came the way He did to be accessible. A God that we could reach out and touch.

Sharing Christmas this year with our young son for the first time has challenged me to take a reflective look at the way we celebrate Christmas. What do I want him to learn about Christmas? What do I want it to mean to him? Underneath all the wrapping paper and tinsel and lights, what do I want him to remember? I find myself going back to the simplicity of Christ’s birth more this year than ever before and I have decided what I want Christmas to be for me and my family. I want us to forget the presents, the busyness, the delicious treats and parties, and kneel in the straw beside the manger; to reach out and grasp the tiny fist extended and realize that this was only the beginning. And more than that, I want to show Jesus to the world by allowing Him to be accessible through me. That is what Christmas is really about – celebrating the day that God reached out to us by reaching out with His love to each other. So, this Christmas season, may you feel His Love in a greater way than ever before and may you share that Love with a world so desperately in need of it.