It’s now the Feast of the Epiphany.  The Christmas feast was long ago eaten, the cookies are now stale and crumbled. Although the tree might still be up, the presents are all unwrapped, and the child has been placed in the nativity scene.  Christmas is pretty much over. 

Right? But still I consider – what was that all about?  Why all the hoopla?  Why the fuss and frenzy and excitement?  Why all the preparations?  For what were we waiting? For someone to show up?  For Christmas Day?  For the gifts, the food?  For a respite from the mess of everyday life?

As Christians, we say that during Advent we wait for Christ.  But which Christ?  The baby who we believe was born over 2000 years ago?  How could that be? Or do we wait for a rescuer, as the Hebrew people did?  Perhaps we are waiting for the hero who will come at the end of time to vanquish our enemies, and to turn the world the way we want it to be? 

I often wonder instead if perhaps, deep in our heart of hearts, what we really wait for, what we most long for during Advent, is to see the fulfillment of the work of Jesus.  (Although for sure, most of us would never voice it that way!) We long for the Kingdom of God – a place of ongoing peace, joy, and love. We long for Christ to be with us here!

And yet, I know, Christ IS in some way, in each and every person already.   Christ is among us now, even (especially) in the mess, given to us in the midst of the pain and the anxiety, in often very unexpected places.   Maybe the “so what?” of Christmas is to learn to live the Christ with whom we have already been gifted? To see Jesus in the everyday people and world around us?

From the story of the magi whom we celebrate today we know that THEY saw the Christ in the tiny baby among the animals.  They were given eyes to see, and the hearts to make the journey.  So too, were the shepherds.  What about us?

This coming Sunday we remember the Baptism of Jesus, with the gospel passage from Luke, chapter 3.  Inadvertently when this scripture passage is discussed, people ask “So, did John see or hear the Holy Spirit when it came upon Jesus?  Did John know who Jesus was?”  The scripture really doesn’t tell us.  So I wonder now – do WE, who have been baptized in the Spirit, recognize God in the people and the world that surrounds us?   Are we willing to learn to see, and respond to, the beauty of the Holy Spirit that exists in all things?  John’s task was to prepare the people of the time for Jesus’ message and work of the coming of God’s Kingdom.  Do we realize this also refers to US?  Are we, as a result of Christmas, of the coming of Christ, actively involved in growing God’s Kingdom here on this earth?   Do we ourselves live God’s gift of love?

Christmas is more than a Christian liturgical season, and certainly more than just a day.  Shouldn’t it instead be a way of life, a practice of living God’s love? We exist in such a messy world.   It’s so easy to be disheartened.  And yet, look! Here is Jesus come to live among us NOW!   Here is the Spirit! It appears to me that this way of looking at, of really seeing the world is what the mystery and joy of Christmas are about. 

So what? I ask that question again. My response has much to do with my understanding that the Christmas joy and delight we experience in the midst of a dark month -is not meant to be a brief escape from the messiness of the world. Instead, it hopefully gives us the strength to go deeper – and to discover the already existing love that undergirds all things. My prayer is that we can look and actually see,  listen and really hear, follow and truly live the Christmas gift of love, throughout this year of 2022!