The darkness presses around us but the light is near. For all our hard-heartedness and desperation, for all our neglect and apathy, for all our violence and disregard, the love of God still makes an entrance into our world. Our God comes gently, without power or honour, without resources or privilege, into a world choking on distance and disparity. Jesus arrives in an outbuilding to join a society that will label, judge, disregard and ultimately slaughter him. He comes to join our brokenness, not as a spectator or a judge, but as a medic on an ugly battlefield—coming to repair what has been broken and revive what has been lost.
We are tired and worn down by the cold and the struggle. Nights are long and days are short and we feel the weight of all the pain around us. But we are not alone. God is with us, active and present, making light out of our darkness and life out of death.
Glory to God in the highest
and on earth: Peace!
Goodwill to humanity, on whom God's favour rests.
Image: The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1898
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