The sky before the storm.
I've got that pre-snow anticipatory mood going on this morning. It's not supposed to be that much of an accumulation this time, but still. Enough to make me think through where I might need to be and how I might need to time it out. And then hunker down and feel just a little bit Christmas-happy, surrounded as I am by all the lights and dangly things and such.
It's cold out there, for sure, with the sun rising against the mottled layer of clouds all glorious and defiant against the winter. Or in sync with it. Either way, it adds to my it's-going-to-be-a-great-day vibe.
And I say this all from the snug warmth of a new house built with all the latest in heat-preservation technology. Our insultation is top notch and all the windows brand new and sealed up tight. All I have to do to catch this shot is step outside for the briefest of moments, then scurry back inside to begin my day all cozy at my desk. I even have a vanilla candle lit.
Who can possibly survive outside in this? It's a passing thought, and then.
But people do.
If you live in Kitchener, you know where this is. And I didn't go down there to take this picture because, well it's cold out, right? And I'm safe here in my own neighbourhood, right?
But against the red glory of a pre-storm sunrise, I can't help but wonder where Joseph might have had to take Mary if this was Bethlehem instead of Kitchener. When I drive past the encampment at Vitoria and Weber I think about this. I don't think there's much difference between being born in a stable and born in an encampment when it comes to the looks of it, the status of it, the scorn of it.
And remarkably, the very thing that makes me want to turn away whenever I drive by, is by the nature of its abject humility, the incarnate truth which brings us all comfort and joy. That is, that God did this on purpose, was born in a place like this on purpose. To demonstrate His cosmic plan to upend all that's wrong with the world, turn it on its head, and restore, reclaim and reconcile all He created back to Himself.
"In Bethlehem in Israel this Blessed Babe was born,
and laid within a manger upon this blessed morn,
[To] which his mother Mary did nothing take in scorn,
O tidings of Comfort and Joy
Comfort and Joy
O tiding of Comfort and Joy."
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Words are cheap, and these are only words. I've challenged myself to a little experiment that I may or may not write about later. Depends on how it goes. For now, let's just say that I've been prompted over the past two weeks to move towards more kingdom integrity in this matter. Curious to see where it takes me.
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