Can you hear the angels sing sweetly over the plains? The Christmas story is so familiar, we may overlook how inconceivable it really is. Every Christmas Eve, we pause to consider this unfathomable reality: the immutable God of the universe entered our lowly world to be with us. The Lord didn't arrive in some extraordinary, sensational way; he was born amid sweat, dirt, makeshift blankets, and diapers. God's incarnate presence in Bethlehem exposes the wondrous essence of life's most banal elements.
Whenever we feel trapped in the bustle of our everyday obligations, the good news of our Messiah's birth commands us to stop and ponder. Our culture pressures us to put on the illusion of having it all together, but the age-old Christmas story invites us to model after Mary. According to Luke, "Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Lk. 2:19). The Gospel is the good news that we need not waste our energy in chasing idyllic perfection. Who would redeem us if not our God who knows our paralyzing feelings of inadequacy? Mary's situation is incredibly inadequate, and yet she recognizes its beauty. God's glory is here, if only we would pause to see it.
