“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2:6-7 NIV
Overwhelmed by the news cycle and our social media feeds with their steady diet of messages and images of violence, cruelty, selfishness, anger, divisiveness and indifference to human suffering and dignity, it is easy to fall into despair–paralysis of hopelessness. The insidious nature of despair is its chilling effect on the strength of hope. Despair wants us to believe that there is no greater power in this world than self-serving cruelty and hatred, nothing mightier than the power to dominate and divide.
The Christmas story shows us, however, that true strength–true power, comes wrapped in cloths and sleeping in a manger. God’s love, mercy, and justice for all creation is brought to life and light in an infant sleeping in a manger.
The greatest strength is in the littlest things. The little things hold the power to restore hope.
May this Christmas restore and strengthen hope in the power of God to transform the world through the very things our world would see as “little”: mercy, kindness, gentleness, and caring. May the light of that hope cast out the darkness of despair and show us the mighty strength that has been given us to share through even our littlest acts of loving kindness, caring, sharing, smiling, blessing, and sacrificing our need to dominate, control, or judge.
There is great strength in these little things; great strength in Christmas. Without this strength we cannot be fully human as Jesus was. The strength of little things restores our full humanity.
Let your kindness, your gentleness, your patience and understanding, your caring and sharing, your generosity and self-sacrifice be a witness to the hope of Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
