The great writer Martin Buber believed that God gives each one of us a speck of the world to redeem – an infant dot of creation to nurture into fullness of life. The miracle of Christmas, the baby God who was born at Christmas is being born within each one of us, a fragile burst of creation that is only ours to redeem. What is the particular spark in you? Is it a vocational dream that is waiting to be realized? Is it forgiveness for a past mistake or forgiving someone else and letting love take over unconditionally – no conditions – just love? Is it a creative instinct waiting to be expressed? What is the holy in you – vital and yet vulnerable – yearning to be born? This infant holiness, gestating in your soul, will be born when it is time to come – and then it’s up to you to respond. This God spark within you is totally dependent upon you to survive.
I remember the night well, nearly eight years ago, when my granddaughter was born prematurely, and very fragile. Will she make it or not? She had an I.V in her foot and tubes in her wee nose, a monitor on her chest. We have learned that vulnerable babies need to be held and cuddled to survive. What my wee granddaughter needed along with medical help was the human touch of love. She had someone in her family who rubbed her tiny body and whispered you are loved over and over – day in and day out. She is now a bright, energetic girl waiting to celebrate her eighth birthday on Boxing Day.
At Christmas – God comes to us as a vulnerable child – perhaps a bit premature for survival in a secular world. With our voices we sing carols, and we read the story, we proclaim joy and hope of this season. But if our words do not connect with our touch, if our singing does not connect with our service, then this fresh presence of a fragile God may not survive the night.
God bends low to come as one of us, a baby who blesses us and calls us to be nurturers of life. If we have the courage to pick up the child, this baby will fit perfectly in our arms.
Can you feel the baby? Can you smell the baby? Can you hear the baby? This is Emmanuel – God with us!