Baby? Yes, baby. This is form in which the Advent event (say that three times fast) takes its
incarnation. As a baby…
Why as a baby? Yesterday, at my chapel, we had a children’s choir come serenade the folks with their Christmas pageant – the parents figured: ‘we’ve gone to all this trouble for costumes, rehearsals, memorising lines, getting flustered, etc. – and we only get to do this once?’ So, they volunteered to do their dress rehearsal at our community. The main plot device was that the chorus of angels in heaven was being told that God was going to make an appearance on earth.
What form would God take? The angels speculated amongst themselves – in a skit designed to get the oohs and aahs out the audience, the youngest of the children (probably on the order of 6 years old) came out in robes and a crown, a gladiator outfit, and even an ancient Elvis impersonator, as they angels tried to fathom just what kind of magnificent, impressive presence God on earth would take.
They were all amazed when it was announced that God would come to earth as a
baby. Why a baby? One angels even said, in as snide a tone of voice as a ten-year-old could muster, ‘there’s nothing special about a baby!’
The lead angel (undoubtedly picked for her ability to remember all the lines) explained that, as a baby, God could relate to every human being. Not all can relate to kings, warriors, or Elvis impersonators, after all. There would be a distance that God does not want. God wants to have a close, special relationship with all, and all human beings, from the moment they are born, have experience being a baby, and this can serve as the basis of relationship.
I think that is something to consider as we progress through Advent. What is it we are waiting for? What do we really want? What is ultimate importance?
Just like the gifts given out for the holidays, we realise as we get older that the size and ‘impressiveness’ of the packaging doesn’t always reflect the value of the gift. The best things come in simple, common packaging, or sometimes completely unwrapped, with no special trappings at all. What’s so special about a baby? In many ways, everything! In many ways, nothing at all – and that is the point. God wants a relationship to be both special and familiar, close and personal, common in that most uncommon of ways.
Further, if God created humanity in God’s own image, it makes perfect sense that God’s reflection on earth would likewise be the image of humanity, and the human experience requires being born as a baby.
What were people looking for? A king? A military leader? A great and powerful, impressive person? Don’t they all begin as babies, too? But even so, to be born a baby among the common folk makes for even greater chance at relationship. We can relate to this.
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I shall post a brief meditation each day, following an acrostic method (A for the first day, B for the second, and so forth) for each day of Advent. I hope you'll join me as I work through various feelings and thoughts this Advent season.
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