The Times Between (blog)

"Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'" (Luke 2:28-32)Our Advent waiting is nearly over.  Our expectations have grown and we're ready to take hope into our arms again and hold him close, and then to be dismissed in peace as Simeon was.At Christmas we gather together, in person and in spirit, to remember God's faithfulness, rejoicing in his promise of salvation made visible, tangible and audible in an astonishing way - in a baby, born to a virgin in a seemingly obscure time and place.Simeon waited his whole life for the promised Savior of the world to be revealed.  Mary waited 9 months to hold Jesus in her arms, but like Simeon she was already carrying hope in God's deliverance around inside of her when the angel of God visited with news of his imminent birth and her blessed part in it.God's word of promise had always been with Simeon and Mary, and was their hope, but now God's word was also growing inside of Mary in a whole new way, as the person of Jesus, God's eternal word made flesh to dwell with them (John 1:14).Imagine Mary's astonishment in that glorious moment when the angel appeared and spoke to her!  Then, with his departure, came her dismissal into everyday life, into that time between divine revelations, the months between his visit and Jesus' birth.What was that like, I wonder, stepping back into the ordinary after experiencing something so extraordinary?The gaze must lower, the eyes must focus again.  Awe and wonder must give way to the meeting of physical needs as, reluctantly, attention returns to work and to the ground immediately ahead.What difficult ground Mary and Joseph had to cover in that time between revelations!  Were they shamed by their neighbors?  No doubt they were weary and confused.  Did they wonder if God really knew what he was doing as the days stretched on into weeks and months without further word from him, and then ended in upheaval in an unexpected journey to Bethlehem at the most inopportune time?  How could there have been no lodging for them there, except in a stable?Was this baby still God's Plan?In all of those 'ordinary' days, Jesus' presence was growing within Mary, his movements more easily discerned and then impossible to ignore until, at last her womb could hold him no more and he burst forth, to be with her - and with Joseph, Simeon, the shepherds and wise men (and other people of quiet contemplation, like Anna, see Luke 2:36-38), the people of Israel, and eventually all the world - in a whole new way!When I gave birth to my first daughter and the nurse plopped her tiny, wriggling body into my arms, I remember thinking to myself, "WOW, there really WAS a baby in there!"  She had been with me all along but suddenly she was with me in a whole new way.  I could hold her in my arms.  And now that she is all grown up, I can be held by her - isn't that amazing?At Christmas we celebrate Jesus' presence with us, growing in us and bursting forth from us in new ways as we share the good news of his birth with others.  Jesus was born into the world to save us, dying for our sins so that we can be forgiven, and then rising again to life so that we also can have new life with him forever!  Someday all of our waiting will be over, and with our own eyes we will see him - our salvation!This good news, this divine revelation, encourages those of us who are struggling through these last days of the calendar year and who have little hope of temporal realities improving in the New Year.  It comforts those of us who have lost loved ones and are wondering why that had to be part of God's Plan.  And it strengthens those of us who are weary and are wondering, in this time in between, if God really knows what he is doing.At Christmas we take hold of that hope once again, that our Savior came into the world to be with us in a new way, in all of our ordinary, confusing and tumultuous days.