A Child Given

For to us a child is born,to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Isaiah 9:6-7

I got the opportunity at a young age to sing the Messiah with my high school choral group. I even got to sing the alto recitative, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive". At 15, it was quite a challenge and a thrill. Singing with such a great group of voices, having put a huge effort into the performances, was a major milestone in my life. This lifting music, this icon of Christmas music, sung with such vigor and such heart! Right in the middle of our final performance, one of the boys passed out and went flying off the risers and off of the stage. We all grabbed for him a caught him before he hit his head- but it shook us up completely. And then, after things got settled down and he was seen to, we restarted and I had to sing, with my whole body and being shaken, feeling I was the next to go. God's presence and gift with us, in the incarnation, is as wonderful and lofty as the best music can bring, and as human as trembling teenagers, passing out from exhaustion and illness in the midst of a performance. Very real and very holy. Completely like us and yet compete.

Today, I want to remember as I make all the big and small preparations for Christmas, that this child is given for all of us - a child to fill the broken places, to mend the seams of relations torn, to bind the sorrowful and the weary and to bring light to our darkest moments. I ask God that we all find the newborn joy of love revealed over and over again this day.