We are not that far from Bethlehem

7 days.   6000 miles.  2 millennia.   That is about how far we are from Bethlehem. Many of us probably slid into that pew last Monday night, exhausted, distressed, frustrated, worried, depressed, scared, weary, grieving, hopeless, joyless and not quite ready.  Mary must have thought the same.  The only thing she knew for sure was she was going to have a baby and his name was to be called Emmanuel.  The angel had told her that much.  Bethlehem almost missed it.  I suspect we do too. 

The church in all its wisdom originally set aside twelve days for Christmas. Most of us have already opened gifts, put up our decorations, have resolved (as of this morning), to eat less and exercise more. For many the holidays expose the fragility of their relationships, the reality that their hearts are not filled with joy and a post-Christmas depression develops.  We stop celebrating Christmas before it even begins.  We realize rather we admit it or not that we are lost and our hearts are not quite right and sadly we most often don’t know why.  Or perhaps we do, but we are distracted by many things or we would rather not look hard enough to find out.

I can imagine that Mary felt much of the same.  First, Joseph decided at the most inopportune time to take a road trip.  He forgot to make reservations.  It was crowded in Bethlehem that time of year and money was tight.  More likely than not, the extended family was not exactly over joyed at the new addition and for a while, Mary hid out at her cousin’s Elizabeth’s house.  Apparently, the birth of Jesus caused a king to commit infanticide.  And she and Joseph had to run away to Egypt.  And maybe, just maybe Mary wanted a girl and maybe, just maybe she had another name in mind.  She probably was not at all thrilled at the prospect of having to raise Jesus away from her kinfolk.  Her mom or sisters or aunts were not going to be around for childrearing advice.  Joseph probably wondered if they were hiring carpenters in Egypt. 

So, while everyone was sleeping, Mary and Joseph chose to keep moving forward.  She and he believed in the hope the angel had promised.  She and he saw love being born and knew that God is with us, God is in us, and God is for us.

We just aren’t that far from Bethlehem.  

We can live our days with hope, with joy, with peace, even if only for today.  And sometimes today is enough.  We can remember the hope that was born in Bethlehem that night.  It is not that far away, really. 

This night on the first night of the New Year and on the eighth day of Christmas… We pray…

We pray that we will live our days with hope, with peace, with joy.  We pray that we will remember the hope He believed in, promised and brought.  We pray that our lives will reflect the dream He had and to know that Peace on Earth is not that out of reach…It is not that far…It is only as far as finding mercy, love and forgiveness.   We just aren’t that far from Bethlehem.

Happy New Year and wishing you the hope that was found in Bethlehem and may you always realize it is not that far…