Cast the darkness away
He appeared
A helpless child
The light of God came to save us
To the world that He made us
O' Lord and Savior
Alleluia
-Josh Garrels, A Light Came Down
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:24-25
Our Father who is in Heaven,
It is a hard thing to quiet our hearts before you. Our hearts are loud and chaotic, as we come off a year of political strife and global unrest and terror, as we come off a year of personal failures and successes, as we come off a year of doubt and sorrow and weaknesses of all kinds.
But every December, as Christmas stands bright and shining in the dark of this year, we still feel your draw of every heart, of every story, of every nation, even our tired and dusty selves. We can’t help but remember your First Advent into our sorry world, a helpless baby born to new parents. We can’t help but remember the curious manner of your First Coming, how angels announced you to both Mary and Joseph, how kings hunted you, how wise men from foreign countries sought you, how everything fell into place by unseen hands to fulfill the prophecies and promises of an Almighty Father to His longing people.
This year, we remember the dreamers, the seekers in this story of your birth. In our world, there is no room at the inn for dreamers either. The dreamers are told to come back with an action plan, to forget their foolish dreams, roll up their selves and get to work. But just as you chose to come in the ultimate weakness of humanity, a fragile baby, you chose to work in the twilight world of human dreams to protect the Savior of all people. Joseph, the human father of Jesus, the father you chose to keep the Messiah safe from harm was such a dreamer. After weighing his human options, he chose to not put his pregnant fiancee to shame and just divorce her without fuss or mess. But in sleep, in fragile dreams, you sent him a message, and thank God, he remembered when he awoke. Thank God he didn’t dismiss it as something he ate the night before, or the result of emotions and decisions running high. Thank God you transformed his dreams into something more concrete and real than the normal run-of-the-mill dreams we shake from our minds as we wake.
And so as we remember Joseph, the Dreamer and the human Father of God-with-Us, we ask that you would turn us into dreamers too. We ask that you would shake us from our petty dreams, our daily desires, our worldly cares, our unbelieving hearts. We ask that you would transform our dreams into realities, our fears into faith. Give us the vision of Joseph for ourselves and our world. Prepare our hearts for your coming, whether you come to us in dreams or in daylight, in solitude or in community. Be our strength, be our peace as we seek you, as we dream after you and your kingdom. Give us dreams to change our world, as you gave Joseph dreams, as you gave the wise men dreams. Give us calm hearts to hear your gentle voice to us this Christmas, as we turn our hearts toward you, as you turned your hearts toward us and the whole of humanity. As we lift our faces to you in both the ashes of this year and the promises of your birth, whisper to us of resurrection and transformation and and an everlasting hope. Amen.
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| Seeking peace and joy. |
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| An empty peanut butter jar makes a good vase, of course. |
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| Lights shining in the darkness. |
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| Wish. |
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| The beauty of the water and the shore never ceases to amaze. |
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| Earth and sky meet. |
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| Obligatory coffee cup shot. |
