Dear Jesus,
I wonder if you ever look upon the earth … and smile?
There’s a lot of pain and suffering here - just as when you walked the land. Especially where you walked. I know you see much more than I do, and I really can’t believe you are happy with what we have done with the place. We’ve made a disaster of the whole thing, haven’t we? Still…
I wonder if you ever look upon the earth … and smile?
There’s a lot of good here too. I think of all those reading the account of your life, your teachings, and your promises. You have people in every land who love and worship you. You are helping them with the struggles in their lives and carrying them when they can’t go on. You welcome them when their lives have come to an end, and embrace them when they enter your comfort.
I wonder if you ever think about Christmas … and smile?
Do you ever remember the first time you saw your mother’s face? Do your eyes get a little misty when you recall that shepherds rushed in to see a baby after they were amazed by angels? Is there some inner warmth when you think about papa Joseph teaching you some carpentry? Do you smile when you think about your twelve-year-old self confounding the scholars and teachers in the temple? Do you wince a little when you realize your parents were looking for you for three days? Do you grin when you retell the story of what you said to Mary and Jospeh, that you were about your Father’s business, and the look on their faces?
Jesus, as many of us rehearse the grand story of the time when God was with us for a moment, we are joyful and grateful. We are reminded of your love and willingness to become one of us for a time. We take a moment now to consider how all of the prophecies and promises of God over the ages collided in Bethlehem one night.
I smile when I think that the answer to the world’s brokenness took his first breath in a sleepy little town and how his mother captured all of these memories in her heart.
Jesus, I just wonder if you ever think about Christmas and smile.
This was lovely…
Beautiful, John!