Where Is New Life?
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin of Independence, MO, USA
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce….But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare…. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. -Jeremiah 29:4-5, 7, 11
A few years ago, I attempted a “faithful” anticipatory journey through Advent, but the season of my soul didn’t match up with the liturgical calendar. It felt forced and tired. On Christmas Day, I remember feeling grateful to be with family, but hollow within. Where was the new life gift? What was it that was being born? I felt disappointment and a lack of faith that God was actually doing anything new in me or the world.
I can now see that the new life gift was the space within that was being hollowed out. I was being emptied of my expectations and assumptions. I wanted a resolution, but God was creating something deeper. I wanted incarnation to mean that the church’s financial problems would be fixed. I wanted incarnation to mean that I could finally “arrive” in my spiritual life and have the God-experience I wanted. I wanted incarnation to mean that the world would be finally healed and redeemed and transformed. I was filled with impatience and tired of holding the tensions.
When Jesus was born, there were many in his context that wanted quick fixes, too. Joy and mystery encompass the birth story, but the next day Jesus was still a baby! He had to be nursed and nurtured as he grew. How many people passed by the Christ-child each day as he was growing and never knew the potential for transformation ripening within?
Perhaps what has been born among us is something we have yet to recognize. Perhaps Christmas is a symbol that points to a reality of continuous incarnation that we, too, are invited to notice and nurture into fullness of being. Maybe like the people of Jesus’ own time, what we most yearn for will not come in the form or the timeline we expect, but is walking among us in our everyday lives-growing, even now, in our midst.
Prayer Phrase
“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).
Spiritual Practice
Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
