Dear friends,
During the month of December I will be posting
a four part meditation on the life of Christ.
This is part one of four.
May this Advent season be a time when we are changed, ever more deeply,
as we reflect on the extraordinary gift of Immanuel, God-with-us.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end. Isaiah 9:6-7
Part I
You took on flesh and blood,
becoming outcast from the start,
forming cell division by cell division
in a young, unmarried woman’s womb,
drawing oxygen and nourishment
from her teenage body.
Baptized in amniotic fluid,
you pushed through her birth canal
to cry and be in need
of milk from her breasts
and protection in her arms.
Welcomed by a kind stranger who
made room for you
where his family’s beasts were kept,
you were announced by angels,
blessed by prophetess and priest,
sought by foreign kings and
nearby shepherds.
Sought, as well, by Herod’s
men, determined to take
your newborn life,
sending your parents fleeing with you—
hunted, homeless, refugees
in the land where your ancestors
once were slaves.
On returning home,
your family quietly settled
in a poor neighborhood,
where you grew into adulthood
and became a carpenter,
laboring in obscurity
with calloused artisan hands.
from Grace Rises, Juanita Ryan
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