It always amuses me how clean and shiny the stable appears in the nativity pictures and how magically recovered Mary seems to be. Birth is messy and exhausting. Stables are filthy, dusty, and stinky much of the time. Babies are beautiful and sweet when bathed and dressed in clean clothing, but that is not always the case, either.

As a mother who has spent her fair share of time up to her elbows in the messes of her children, I am honestly more interested in the sacred amidst the shambles, the holy in the heap, the miracle in the muddle. I have no use for a divine presence that is only present in the shiney and the pristine. I find the power of the mystery in the messiness of my life, and the nativity for me is a picture of an exhausted young mother and a frightened father delivering his own screaming baby in the only place he could find, a dirty little stable.

“Emmanuel” means, “God with Us” and while I have lots of questions about the “God” part, the “with us” is what comforts and inspires me.

May the sacred be with us, and may we be aware!

In wisdom & grace,

Rev. Ruth