To Love One Another

So...it's been a long while. Too long. I have let life interfere with some of the things I love - like writing. It's time to re-focus my energies away from things like social media & TV and back to what matters to my heart & soul. Writing. Photography. Faith.

While I cannot claim the following as my own it has inspired me to get back to it. It's from a homily whose writer has graciously allowed me to share it. With this beautiful writing I expect to dig deeper in 2022 and share more with you about my own Coffee Talk with Christ.

The writer shares that they have several nativity sets; and between all of them there might be one set in good condition. Damage wrought over years of use, decades of inheritance - but shared nonetheless because it is the time of year to display these beautiful scenes of a future we can't conceive of. So our writer continues from the POV that their collective nativities are a bit raw - "unspeakable" is one word used - and we get:

“You know what? I think my nativity is actually perfect. Because who of us is not broken? I mean, we are all broken in some way and Jesus came because of it - and in spite of it. Isn’t that just a miracle?” 

Isn't that just a miracle? Let's think about that for a moment. 

Christ came to this earth and his ministry changed the world. He taught that revenge can be replaced with reconciliation and forgiveness. Fear and judgment with compassion and grace. Hate with love.

Reconciliation, forgiveness, compassion, grace, love. 

All brought forth to nurture humankind and heal the brokenness in humanity.

And you know what? I think it is right to put out all of my nativity sets. We don’t need just one version of the nativity…we need all of it - the paper, the glass, and the wood, the young and the old, the big and the small.

Mary, bringing the light of Christ to the world even in the coarsest of circumstances.
We can do this

Joseph, standing by Mary and acting as teacher and parent to his young child.
We can do this

Shepherds, coming to revere and worship while also tending to their work.
We can do this

Angels, to sing praise
We can do this

Wise Men, bringing gifts 

Don’t we all have gifts to offer?
We can do this

And what of the Christ Child…? 

What is our call? What does he ask of us?

We can do this

To love one another. As Christ loves us.