The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14
When I was a child, Christmas, different from the other holidays, always had a kind of palpable feeling that almost saturated the air. It wasn't just the anticipation of the presents or a never-ending stream of food and sweets. No, Christmas always seemed like a time when things were possible. Miracles could happen. Wrongs could be set right. Claymation Christmas specials ran on a loop. Most of all there was an undercurrent that a special love was close at hand. Family visited; friends and community gathered to worship, share meals, and share gifts.
Now that I'm grown, some of that childlike mystique has waned while a more substantial joyous gravity has taken its place. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. As it is with several aspects of life, as you move from childhood to adolescence into adulthood, some of the legendary stories and mysteries start taking shape and filling out with details that bring them into a different focus. Jesus moves from just being the baby in a manger from the nativity scene to the central figure: The Word of God in flesh and blood. I still get that anticipatory feeling as it gets near Christmas. I love seeing it in the faces of my children. The special love of God for us is always close at hand, but my mortal flesh needs the Advent season to sharpen my sensitivity to it. If we look around us through the lens of that love, we can indeed see God's glory, often in ways we wouldn't expect.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us enough to come to where we are. Thank you for revealing Your glory to us, through Your son Jesus Christ. Help us to use our Advent traditions as a vehicle to reflect and focus on Your ever-present love. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Garrett Hohmann is a member of the Journey class and has been a member of South Main since 2010. He is married to Stacie, and they have two children, Maddox, and Quinn.
