Fourth Sunday of Advent
[The angel said] “To you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior.” – Luke 2:11
It is
always easy for the angels to say what they say
to sing a song of joy and peace and love; it is
always easy to name a sign for us and expect
that we will follow. It is
always easy for them to come in strange forms
(little girls with foam-board wings and glitter-halos)
(or strangers with a jack on the roadside)
(or whoever brought that can of tuna to the pantry)
to speak God’s special language of love; it is easy for angels.
But we have to leave the fields in the middle of night
away from our comfort zone and walk to some Bethlehem,
away from the everyday and into uncertainty.
Angels find easy ways to tell us that
to us is born this day a Savior; it is easy.
Please God, ease me into your appearance,
let me see you in
budding fruit and straightened paths and shining light;
ease me into Christmas this year especially; help me
hear the angels, for whom it is so easy, give me messages
of joy and peace, of love and hope.
Andy Meckstroth, Moravian pastor serving Ziegels Lutheran Church
Breinigsville, Pennsylvania