Signs and Wonder

Learning how to see

Hi loves!

Although there is pain in our global neighborhood, we had a beautiful Advent season at Middle Church. Beautiful, stirring music; warm hugs and laughter; and prayers and sermons that invited us to experience the Holy wonder of God in fresh new ways. We reflected each Sunday on the Advent themes of hope, peace, joy and love. Then, on Christmas eve, we sang carols, lit candles, and remembered the reason for the season. God’s love came all the way down to earth, put on Jewish/Palestinian baby flesh, and as Eugene Peterson wrote in The Message, “moved into the neighborhood” so humans could experience the human divine partnership. This moment, we declared, is about what he calls God’s Love-Light that is so present, nothing can put it out!

In the Christian tradition, the Incarnation of God’s Love is a central part of our faith. We believe God came to us, not as a soldier but as an infant. Born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, the Roman Empire’s occupation of the Holy Land was the backdrop for this particular birth that so threatened Herod, that he ordered all male children of a certain age killed. Joseph and Mary moved their baby to Egypt for a time to save his life, then settled in Galilee. The Christmas story is one of vulnerability, unconventional (meaning scandalous) pregnancy, migration, fear, terror, and ultimately hope.

Hope, because love is stronger than fear. Hope because that one child grew up to remind us that loving God means loving our neighbor as ourselves. Hope because Jesus and a small band of revolutionaries changed the world, and we can, too. Hope because in every place and in every time, good people care for their children and each other; raise families and teach them to love; and get involved in movements to make the world better for others.

Hope because the children are signs of the wonder to come.

I spent time with my niece Rio and my nephew RJ this season. I baptized both of them and have watched them mature into funny, kind, beautiful, gifted, and talented teens who give me hope for tomorrow. Hope because they have a multicultural crowd of friends who see the world as it is, know they can make it better, and plan to do so.

And the two O’s brought their parents for a visit on Christmas Day. At six and four, these amazing children are imaginative, creative, vulnerable, and joyful. They are also fiercely independent and know what they think and want. The sound of running feet, giggling and raucous laughter, and yes, the tears that come from young ones when they are tired or disappointed—all of these are signs of the wonder to come in their adult lives.

These little people crawl into our bed, snuggle in, and fall back to sleep. That is a wonder to me! And it is a sign. A sign that they know they are safe, no matter who is elected president, no matter how messed up the world is. Children will be held well by their families. There will be sleeping, and awakening; there will be child-play and adult-care; there will be weeping and laughing. Sadly, there will be death and mourning. And there will be life—stubborn, persistent, struggling, resilient.

I’m going to keep looking for signs. In the sky, in my early-morning bed, at the dinner table, in my church. I’m going to continue to wonder what is next for us all, what this moment in our global neighborhood means. I’m training my eyes to see the signs, to wonder. To wonder about what we can do about it all, together.

To experience Advent and Christmas at Middle Church, go to our YouTube channel.

And if you wonder about what we can do, together, to make this nation better, come join me at Freedom Rising: The Fierce Urgency of Now.

I’m sending love to you, wonderful one!

Jacqui