12-18-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 18, 2024
In my Etching yesterday, I asked the question: What part of your world needs to know that it is loved? Today, I wish to pose another question: Where do you need to show yourself a little mercy and kindness? In this Advent season, as we eagerly await the arrival of God’s manifestation of mercy and kindness, where do you need to create space for those gifts to transcend mere words and actually show up in your day-to-day life? The weeks leading up to Christmas are usually filled with unrealistic expectations and pressures. External and internal voices often provide less-than-positive opinions of our efforts. There are certain memories I have of Christmas that set pretty high standards of what Christmas should be, yet I wonder how accurate my memory might be. How might emotion and nostalgia be skewing those memories, often piling on more of those unrealistic expectations? The birth of Jesus completely upended the preconceived notions about the Saving One of God. What expectations need to be upended so that, in doing so, we can create more room for mercy and kindness in our own lives?

Holy God, the gift of Christ Jesus did not come with the usual expectations that our culture seems to have imposed on this season. Instead, your gifts turned things upside down, and in doing so, an invitation to love you and neighbor was put forth, but never apart from the importance of loving ourselves. Help us to find those places in our lives where a little more kindness and mercy are needed. Amen.