As the holiday season whips into its frenzied pace all around us, we are invited to observe a very different season. The season of Advent invites us to “come and walk in the light of the Lord.” This alternative season is not necessarily opposed to parties, caroling, gatherings of friends and family, or the exchange of gifts. I rather love those parts of the season. I engage in them with appreciation for how the festive spirit draws me to a love for people that I see modeled in Jesus. After all, wasn’t Jesus getting into trouble all over the gospel for his readiness to break bread with all kinds of people in all kinds of situations?
The difference that Advent makes in the heart of those of us who observe this season is an ability to remain grounded and attentive to the longing in our lives and in our world for the light of Christ. We move through this time with awareness that not everything is “sparkle and light.” We name those places of longing and waiting. We acknowledge the weariness and suffering. And we look for Christ everywhere we go: in the parties and in the quiet; in the sorrow and in the laughter. We watch for Christ coming in the flesh.
This hymn by Brian Wren seeks to capture the goodness of our embodied life…for it is in our flesh that God came to dwell and it is in this life we find Christ still.
Good is the Flesh
by Brian Wren
Good is the flesh that the Word has become,
good is the birthing, the milk in the breast,
good is the feeding, caressing and rest,
good is the body for knowing the world,
Good is the flesh that the Word has become.
Good is the body for knowing the world,
sensing the sunlight, the tug of the ground,
feeling, perceiving, within and around,
good is the body, from cradle to grave,
Good is the flesh that the Word has become.
Good is the body, from cradle to grave,
growing and aging, arousing, impaired,
happy in clothing, or lovingly bared,
good is the pleasure of God in our flesh,
Good is the flesh that the Word has become.
Good is the pleasure of God in our flesh,
longing in all, as in Jesus, to dwell,
glad of embracing, and tasting, and smell,
good is the body, for good and for God,
Good is the flesh that the Word has become.
Peace,
Pastor Jill