As Mary and Joseph cared for their son and as each of us cares
for the persons entrusted to us, so, too, God cares for each one of us.
God has taken care of the two of us this year ... with tenderness and
mercy. Our great joy was to be with the circus, even if it was only for
a short time this year. As soon as we were on the road, we felt "at
home" again.
With awe and wonder and
eyes of love they observed him,
ears open to his every move
and sigh,
studying the rhythms of his
tiny body,
anticipating his needs and
cries.
With affection and joy they adjusted their daily lives to his,
shielding him from too
much noise and light,
fulfilling his every
hunger and need,
even in the middle of the
night.
With welcome and tenderness
they took him in their hearts,
hugging, nurturing,
caressing with delight,
so he would feel confident
and secure,
protected from danger and
fright.
The angels said this tiny
vulnerable baby is God!
How can that be
so ... a God in need?
Is it possible to find God
in such littleness?
Did the shepherds and
kings really believe?
Is God so in need of
mutuality and intimacy?
Does God, like us, need to
receive?
Is not God pure gift,
life-giver?
A creator who nourishes
and feeds?
Is not God "my" caregiver,
"my" friend?
Is it not God who meets
"my" every need?
How can it be that God is
dependant?
that God is vulnerable and
needs me ?
It surely didn't have to be
that way.
Did God decide to
be so?
And does he cry out to me
as he did to Joseph
"Arise, take the baby and
go"?
God, do we, you and me, touch each other most deeply
where we are mutually
vulnerable and in need?
Do we
grow most in intimacy
by me being confident in
you and you in me?
God, do you really seek
intimacy and mutuality with "me"?
And awe and wonder,
affection and joy, welcome and tenderness,
as you did from Mary and
Joseph,
when you became a baby boy?
