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…Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord (Luke2:10-11).

Beloved,

       As I participated in a recent webinar one of my colleagues made the statement “the Spirit always moves where it’s messy.” No other words can more rightly summarize the Christmas story, where God moves in the messiness of our world to lay the foundation for the new order of things. In fact God intentionally seeks out the messiest places and people to do this work.

       Take for instance the announcement of the Messiah’s birth. The angel doesn’t come to Herod’s court or Caesar’s palace – nor to the Temple and the religious leaders. No, the good news of great joy comes to the working poor barely scraping together a living in an insignificant place; shepherds tending their flocks in the lonely fields of a sleepy little village called Bethlehem. The good news of God With Us comes to occupied territory, a land exploited by the elite – a people suffering at the hands of outside interests for hundreds of years.

       The Spirit always moves where it’s messy.

       I think God so moves because it’s in that messiness – among those of us most broken and hopeless, where God’s good news message is best received. It’s in times of deep despair and longing when God whispers to us, as Rev. Bruce Epperly says, “life can be different,” and we respond to that good news with great joy.

       Those of you that have attended in-person worship during Advent may have noticed that the wreath lighting readings are adapted from Howard Thurman’s The Mood of Christmas. In it he says “…where fear companions each day’s life, and perfect love seems long delayed, Christmas is waiting to be born: In you, in me, in all humankind.”

       Because God is born in messiness, ours will be transformed. Because of the Savior’s birth our church and community can be reborn. And that, dear friends, is good news of great joy!

Have a Merry Twelve Days of Christmas!

Pastor Terry