At
just the right moment, after centuries of silent, still watching, God responds
to his fears of rejection in fawning, embracing ultimate vulnerability before
us, coming as an utterly dependent newborn. He will face the wrath of a
paranoid king, forcing his family to flee to Alexandria, ironically just as
that king himself had done years before. But he will also be met with love, with
connection, a mother, father, and community of descendants of David, all hoping
for restoration of the covenant friendship their ancestor had enjoyed with God.
And
now we find ourselves in the dying days of 2024, and with much to fear as we journey
on into 2025. As we meet each situation that (rightly, for our survival) causes
us to fear, we must learn again the fear of the Lord, how to fear what God
fears and respond to each fear as God does: flight or fight or freeze or fawn.
The wrong choice could cost us everything.
The
same body that enables us to fear with God enables us to recover, when the
fearful moment has passed over us. As we journey into 2025, may we discover
healthy patterns of becoming grounded again in our body – our home – when we no
longer need to be hyper-vigilant, for the time being. May we learn to inhabit, as
David’s son Solomon reminds us, a time to scatter and a time to gather; a time for
war and a time for peace; a time to keep silent and a time to speak; a time to
embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.
May
our lives grow simpler, and – in an increasingly virtual reality – more embodied,
as we walk humbly with our God.
Happy Christmas.
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