Birth is never easy
never
there is the waiting
the long time of expectation mixed with fear
will the child ever come
will it be what we hoped and dreamed for
there are dangers to that expectancy too
will we accept the child as the child comes
will rejoice in who he is, who she is
or will we try to remake him, reshape her in our own
image?
there is cost too
for birth requires change
commitment, and accountability!
a birth is a sacred trust
into our hands
a child is born
there is pain
the pain of birth is real
messy
a time of travail
and yet the child will come
on this Christmas Eve we come to the time of birthing
we stumble unexpectedly
on the child
there he lies
a wrinkled bit of flesh
squalling into the night
the delight of his mother's
eyes
but to us
just a baby
just that pink
and squalling mess
that baby in a manger
so common
and yet
lying there in that trough
made for feeding
do we not see glimmers of some truth
that he may be more than we see
or understand
that in this birth more than a child is born
that this birth gives birth to
love, perhaps,
or peace
hope
do we not see that this baby is soaked with the divine
and that this birth gives birth
that he may be
food for the world
that he might become
bread broken
and wine poured
sustenance for us
what we need to live
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