It’s about us

2nd Sunday after Christmas - Jeremiah 31:7-14, Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a, Matthew 2:13-15,19-23 or Luke 2:41-52 or Matthew 2:1-12.

After Jesus was born, lots of people started looking for him: shepherds, Wise Men, Herod. Twelve years later, Mary and Joseph couldn’t find him in the pilgrimage crowds. They had to search the city of Jerusalem for three days. At last, they found him in the Temple, sitting with the teachers, being surprising and amazing.

We look for God in many places: sacred buildings, nature, the arts, other people. As one reader of this blog commented last week, when you’re looking for God, look everywhere.

That said, there is one place we hardly ever look. We hardly ever look in the mirror, at ourselves. But we can. We should.

The Incarnation is not only about Jesus of Nazareth. It is about us as well, which is to say that there is more to who we are than our own self-critique and judgment. Much more.

If we sometimes have a hard time believing that about ourselves, we might check with a friend. They can probably remind us of something we said or did that seemed to them surprising, amazing and even saving.

A new year has begun and the season of Epiphany starts Monday. Bit by bit the days are lengthening and the light is increasing. As participants in the Incarnation, may we be open to the ways that God’s light, love and presence is at work and growing in us, even in surprising, amazing and saving ways.

Peace.

---

I am a fan of a blog called Life is a Sacred Text written by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. Her December 30, 2024 post concluded with a Blessing she wrote for her readers “on the cusp of a new year.” I printed it out so that I can read it often. You can find it in her post which starts here. Scroll to the end.

---

Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash