By ourselves ...

I had occasion yesterday to relate a family anecdote from the backwoods of south Arkansas. My paternal grandfather was it seems a fast and somewhat reckless driver on the backroads of Union County, and one day he picked up a fellow thumbing a ride. After fifteen minutes of breathless excitement, the mortified young man looked at Grandpa and asked, “Mister, do you always drive this fast?” to which my grandfather replied, “I drive a lot faster when I’m by myself.” After pondering this a moment, the young passenger remarked, “I’d hate to be with you when you’re by yourself!”

Miraculously, the power and beauty of the Incarnation manages to transcend our trashy exploitation of it every year at Christmas. Yet its meaning cannot be simply stated, although some describe it like Jesus was an astronaut sent from a divine NASA of some kind – “… and he came to earth …” 

Rather it unfolds in us and in our experience over a lifetime. God is truly Emmanuel, “God with us.” Among other things it may mean that God is the One who is with us when we are by ourselves. For those who have experienced the endless emptiness of a loneliness that is neither chosen nor desirable, this is indeed Good News.

Christmas blessings to all.