Where do we Expect to Find Christ at Christmas?

In the first chapter of Luke we find two parallel stories: the story of the announcement of John’s birth and the story of the announcement of the birth of Christ. These two stories, so similar in structure and flow, create several compelling points of contrast. The very settings of the story provide material worthy of reflection.

Zechariah’s encounter with Gabriel takes place exactly where a first century Jew would have expected: In the Holy of Holies, the Temple. In first century Judaism, it was understood that God encounters people (sometimes through intermediary’s like angels) either in the Temple, or through the Torah. Both, in some sense, ‘housed’ the presence of God. At first thought, this may seem somewhat foreign, considering the emphasis we as Christians have often placed on the concept that God is accessible everywhere. And yet, do we not often think of coming into God’s presence in a special way at Church, or in the reading of scripture.

Mary’s encounter however takes place in a most unlikely location. Her encounter occurs in a quiet, poor home located in what was the peasant village Galilee. Galilee was the sort of place that might have caused a sigh in the mind of the elite… backward, poor, without proper religion. This would have been a lowly sort of place… the sort of place that would cause someone to ask, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

And yet, God’s messenger, and later Immanuel (‘God with us’), would break into our human existence within this very humble environment. In choosing to come to us, God seems to have chosen an unlikely spot… a peasant girl in a peasant village, with what would seem like little significance. God doesn’t present God's self as we would expect, but instead challenges us to think of God’s presence in new ways. God in Christ defies our expectations, and refuses to be limited by our ideas about divinity and presence. God goes where God will.

All of this begs the question, where do we expect to encounter Christ this Christmas? Will we find Christ in our beautiful church services, full of ritual and tradition? Surely the presence will be there. Will we find Christ in the familiar telling of the scriptural stories? Perhaps, if we are open to let them speak to us in fresh ways. But maybe we need to look for Christ in the unlikely places as well. Perhaps we will find Christ in the soup kitchens, or the homeless shelters. Maybe we will find Christ at a local community center, or the Salvation Army. Or maybe, just maybe, we will find Christ in the eyes of a helpless child, born into poverty, with the entire world stacked against her. What would it mean to find Christ there?

Most gracious and creative God… may we find you this season where you choose to dwell, and embrace the opportunities to seek your presence in those unexpected places.