God is with us

 

I ran across a story many years ago that I often think of as the season of Advent gets under way. I have no idea of who wrote this, and it may or may not be true, but I like it anyway and I love to share it.

The story takes place in 19th century London in a home for emotionally troubled children. Charles Dickens would have been very familiar with this setting. On the evening before Christmas, the pastor who ran the home found himself running in all directions getting the children ready for their Christmas dinner. And as he ran this way and that, he learned that a child had crawled under his bed and refused to come out.

He hustled up the stairs and found the bed where the child was hiding. Not knowing what else to do, he stood and talked to the child as if he were talking to the empty bedspread. He talked about the brightly lit tree, the candles in the windows, and all of the other wonderful things that were waiting out from beneath the bed.

The child gave no answer. He looked at his watch and sighed, and then dropped to his hands and knees and lifted the spread. Two frightened eyes looked out at him. He could have easily just reached in and pulled him out, but he knew that being pulled out wasn’t what the child needed just then. He needed someone to trust.

And so, crouching there on all fours, he told the child about the special supper they would share and the stocking that had his name on it.

Nothing but silence came from under the bed. Finally, the pastor got down on his stomach and wriggled in beside the boy, snagging and tearing his shirt on a bedspring as he did. And he lay there quietly, with his cheek pressed to the floor for a long time. After a while a small, shivering hand slipped into his. He said, “You know, it’s kind of tight in here. Let’s sit on the bed so that we can talk.”

And as they slid out from under the bed, the pastor realized that he’d been given a wonderful gift. Through this frightened and lonely child he’d been given a glimpse of the beautiful mystery of Christmas.

God had once stood over us as well, calling us to love him with all of our being, and to love and serve our neighbors as ourselves. And when we wouldn’t listen, God knelt down and spoke to us through the prophets. And still we refused. We simply went on living in darkness and pretended that we were in control of our lives.

It wasn’t until that first Christmas, when God lay in the coarse straw of a wooden manger that we dared to stretch out our hands to take hold of God’s love. It was there, in the midst of the heartache, and violence and disease of this world that God came to dwell with us in our loneliness and alienation. God became one of us in order to save us.

The wonder of this season is found in the realization that God isn’t distant from us. God isn’t “up there” somewhere, looking down on us from above. Instead, God is right here, with us. God is with us in our loneliness, holding our hands and reassuring us that we are never alone. God is with us in times of illness, watching over us and comforting us. God is with us when our families fall apart and we wonder if we will ever again be loved. God is with us when we don’t know whom to turn to for a kind word or a friendly smile. God is with the people of Cold Spring, Minnesota today, holding those who grieve the sudden death of police officer Tom Decker.

God came into this world as a helpless and vulnerable child so that we might know that no matter how helpless we feel, and no matter how vulnerable we are, he is here with us. God doesn’t turn away from the darkness of this world, but instead enters into it, and offers us hope.

When I reflect on my life amid the carols, the ringing bells and the festive lights of the season, I can’t help but wonder at God’s boundless love for us. On that first Christmas, God got down on his stomach and crawled under the bed with us so that we wouldn’t be alone in our darkness. What a precious gift, to know that we are never alone. What a joy, to share this beautiful gift with those who have yet to hear the wonderful news that God is with us, today and always!

Each week a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This week’s contributor is Pastor Tom Murray of Lutsen and Zion Lutheran Churches.