From the shepherds watching their flock by night to the disciples drowsing about in the Garden of Gethsemane, one of the threads running through the story of Jesus’ life is the question of who’s able to stay awake, and who can’t seem to rouse from sleep.
The shepherds are our heroes, for in the not-so-simple act of staying awake, they are the first witnesses to the birth of the new world. They are the first to spread the word, and when they do, we see an awakening of those who hear and are amazed. In the intimate presence of her newborn child, Mary herself stays up a little longer to ponder it all: the amazement, the peace, the glory, and the gift.
Christ’s birth was an invitation to the world to awaken to the nearness of God. Though we remember that story in the past tense—as the lived experience of a particular family in a particular land under a particular regime and reality—we must also tell that story in the present tense. Christ’s birth is a call to our world to awaken to the nearness of God.
It is a call to open our eyes and see the brokenness of our world as something that God can heal, not something we must accept as normal. To open our hearts to become intimately aware of the goodness of God all around us. To see this world and the whole human family not through the resignation of despair but instead through the generative lens of hope.
Christ’s birth calls us to awaken to the ever-present reality of hope.
So often, we see hopelessness in our world, and we are told that’s just the way things are. Our hearts break as we see our neighbors suffering, and we are at a loss for what to do for them. We, too, can feel lonely or sad, or even forgotten, and sometimes the best thing we can do is tough it out and say to ourselves, “That’s just the way it is.”
But this is not seeing clearly; this is falling asleep. The birth of Jesus begins our journey of healing by calling us to wake from our sleep…and to stay awake, for Heaven has come near.
When a child is born in the middle of the night, nobody sleeps. The midwives and doctors do not sleep. The father, spouse, or companion does not sleep (not if they know what’s good for them). And the mother does not sleep, I assure you. Heaven and nature are not only singing; they’re telling everyone involved that something incredible is happening, and that everyone’s full attention is required. Stay awake. Don’t miss it.
Dear friends, this Christmas, I invite you to consider God’s lifelong call to us to awaken our hearts to the nearness of the Holy One. The presence of God is as urgent and intimate as the birth of a child.
Let us awaken our souls to the birth of Christ in every waking moment, to the inbreaking of grace into every space in our lives. The Prince of Peace has come among us: come, let us adore him.
