This is Godly materialism: hugging those whom no one hugs, eating with those with whom no one eats, listening to those to whom no one listens, touching those whom no one touches, remembering those whom no one remembers, loving those whom no one loves.
The bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, told the Guardian some religious leaders of “colluding with a system that marginalises the poor.” He told the Guardian,
Whether it is by tyrants ordering mass killings or by lunatics opening fire on school children, too often in the past several years the massacre of innocents has been headline news.
This self-emptying, helpless, stable born baby who is God has brought and continues to bring more freedom than all earth’s most powerful leaders. The nature of those who have power is to seek to hold onto it. In 2017 we have seen around the world tyrannical leaders that enslave their peoples, populist leaders that deceive them, corrupt leaders that rob them, even simply democratic, well intentioned leaders of many parties and countries who are normal, fallible human beings. We have experienced across our country terrorism that kills the innocent, claiming that it is the path to freedom in God.
The nature of God who has all power, and from whom all power comes, is to lay it aside for love’s sake and thus without fear, force or manipulation to offer true freedom for every human being. God is showing all truth in its completest form, all love in its purest aspect, the true light of freedom all wrapped up in the baby in Bethlehem.
Love can sustain us, even if this season is also filled with sadness or memories of those who have left us.
Reflecting on her long decades of marriage, family, and the unusual home life of a monarch, the Queen told how she found inspiration and encouragement in the love of Jesus.
Keep my eyes on you, O Lord. Looking to the stars. Traveling with strangers and friends. Opening doors for all. Keep my eyes on you, O Lord. Jesus is born! Joy to the World!
“Proverbs 18 says death and life are in the power of the tongue. Words can build up or tear down. Words can speak truth or obfuscate truth. Words convey information, emotion, motivation.”
What cup might I make to offer water to an exhausted mother in a manger or a large man on a cross? A cup of simple clay with the colors of a New Mexican Sunrise.
The story we celebrate on Christmas Eve isn’t just about a long-ago wonder. It describes something that is still going on, as the divine “takes birth forever” in mortal flesh and human stories.