Week of December 20-26

So the Saints lost last night. We were hoping to remain undefeated this season. The entire city rallied around the boys. “We need this,” is a phrase I heard often. “The boys brought people together,” is another I would hear.

 

But they lost. Not by much… they rallied in the second half and swiftly made a dent into the Cowboys’ 21 point lead… but at the end of the time allotted, we fell short by 7 points.

 

Despite the reality, there was a moment of impressive hope, perhaps even a belief in the certainty of a miracle: with about 2 minutes left in the entire game, the sounds in the SuperDome were loud the intensity was persistent, the effort was diligent. NO ONE DIDN’T BELIEVE that we weren’t going to pull off another touchdown. We all were convinced that Brees and the boys were going to make it happen.

 

The energy from last night’s game calls to mind the moment we are in today, this week before Christmas. We already know that Christ has come into the world, yet we celebrate Christ’s coming each year to remind ourselves that God comes in the midst of our lives… and the situations of our lives are not ideal in any stretch of the imagination.

 

Today’s reading chronicles Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Just imagine the young mother-to-be blessed with such a wonderful grace yet so difficult to reconcile the tension in the world around her. Mary was a pregnant teen, unwed and about to give birth to a child conceived by the Holy Spirit. WHAT??? And Elizabeth, in her old age about to give birth… this story, over the course of centuries has gotten too sterile and too distant for us. The nitty gritty of the story is as messy as the nitty gritty of our lives.

 

We may have wanted a PERFECT season. We are not going to get it. But, we are going to get a more united New Orleans, one where neighbors see and talk to each other, share their stories, and support one another.

 

Mary’s situation was not ideal, but she said yes anyway. Her witness gives us the courage to take risks for God and God’s vision of a world made new.

 

The world is not perfect. Where we find ourselves is sometimes not ideal. But perhaps we can consider that where we are and who we are are both full of grace. 

 

In this last week of Advent, how do you recognize the graces given to you in preparation of the coming of Christ… in the most un-ideal of forms… a human child…