Hebrews 2:17 & 18: For this reason he had to be made
like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful
and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement
for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he
is able to help those who are being tempted.
We are in the season of advent. That part of me that needs
to fuck with everything wants to point out: it is mostly made up. Christ was not born in December. The entire
nonsense of shepherds tending their flock while ass deep in snow did not
happen. At least not in snow.
If you have
followed my posts through this blessed season in years previous, you know the
narrative so often told of the birth of Christ is wrong. I believe he was born. As a Christian, I believe in the death and
resurrection, thus he would have had to have been born in order for that to
happen.
This year is
a little darker, maybe even sinister, for me. I find myself questioning the
birth of Christ. Questioning, not if it happened, but why it happened. What was
he thinking? It is one of those times I stand convinced of our collective
putridness. To my perspective Jesus coming here would be like going for a swim
in a septic tank.
Did he come
as God, with all the fanfare and celebration we would expect? No. There was no
privilege claimed. He came as the lowliest of positions; the illegitimate child
of a peasant girl from a town that defines insignificance. Later, he and the
family became refuges. We all know what we think of refuges.
He was fully
human. There would have been skinned knees, tears, puke and shit. As a teenager
did he have a crush? I would think so. His purity came not from abstinence – a concept
that is ours, and is disturbing. His purity came from the love he had, and
still has, for us. But he must have known desire, and the heart break of
rejection. He would have known exhaustion, illness, rejection, and all the
foibles of life. Ultimately, he was a despised one. His death on the cross
would have been a fitting finish to a life spent being shunned by people.
His coming
here, if we really pay attention, let’s us know how wrong we have things. The
Kingdom of Heaven is the opposite of what we assume it to be. It is not about
competition, it is not about being at of a pyramid scheme of adoration. Rather,
we are called to service. It is recognizing ourselves in each other. It is
recognizing Christ in each other.
Mark 9:35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
God does not
simply sit on high demanding love, praise and obedience. Rather he seeks an
involvement in our lives, individually and collectively. That is what advent is
about. The celebration of which should be everyday not just this time of the
year.
He does that
through us. I am not a fan of the salvation from hell doctrine. I believe we
are called into a salvation from idiotic living. A life of service to each
other. As I learned in 12 step groups, “Let it begin with me.”
Jesus exemplified, letting it begin with me.
1 Corinthians 1:27 -
29 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God
chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly
things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to
nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.