The last day of Advent 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Luke 2:12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Do you know what swaddling clothes are? I didn’t until I was in high school or college. Our neighbor, Mary, was a second generation Italian. Her parents were born in Italy. One afternoon before Christmas Mary explained that in Italy poor people wrapped their new born infants in bands of cloth to keep them warm and keep their arms and legs flaying about. According to Mary it gave them a sense of security. Mary explained that that is what swaddling clothes are. When our children were born I saw the same principle at work when they were wrapped tightly in a blanket.
What was the sign the angles gave the shepherds to look for in order to find the new born king? Not angelic chorus, not a bright shining star – but a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. The sign was not some extravagant, magnificent, wondrous happening but a common little baby wrapped up like new born infants were and are wrapped.
I love all the whoopla and the extravagant, magnificent wondrous things about the Christmas holiday. But I am well aware that Christ most often comes to us in the common ordinary things of life. I guess that’s why the church has chosen water, bread and wine to be vessels of the Holy Spirit and our Lord in the sacraments. So, I say, “Enjoy all the whoopla and the extravagant, magnificent wondrous things of Christmas. But look for our Lord in the common ordinary things in the day and in the coming year.
Stir up your power, O Lord and come. Let us see you as you come to us in the common and ordinary. AMEN
It reminds me of the saying to stop and smell the roses. We often just rush through things and go from event to event without really appreciating the little things.
ReplyDeleteI think of Hebrews 13:2 - we could always be entertaining angels without knowing it. Merry Christmas and thanks for the Advent devotions.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful also for the Advent Devotions and the thought provoking comments. May we look forward with expectant hope to see Jesus in the most unexpected places and situations.
ReplyDeleteI gained a new appreciation for "swaddling clothes" (or "cloths," as some translations say) when our second son was born -- on Dec. 25, no less -- and had some fussy periods, as all newborns do. We were taught by our pediatrician to "swaddle" him tightly, arms down at his sides, in a couple of "receiving blankets." We called him our "little burrito"!! It then made sense to me that Mary and Joseph had done the same thing with their own little bundle. I felt connected to Mary, and to the Baby Jesus, in new ways that year.
ReplyDelete(Now our little guy is a whopping SIX YEARS OLD!! Did Mary's Son ever fail to listen to her at age 6, or to pick up his toys? Did he ever throw tantrums?! I see Jesus in my "baby's" supposedly ordinary frequent hugs and kisses, in his many-times-a-day proclamations of "I just LOVE you guys!", in his innocent ways of viewing the world, learning about God, praying for people we know who are hurting, and all the different things little boys do as they grow!)
Merry Christmas, Pastor Evan and fellow readers! How about Epiphany devotions next?!