When Morgan, our oldest kiddo, was two, God called us to leave Quincy, IL for a church just outside Milwaukee, WI. Now even as a two-year old, Morgan was quite the talker, and she loved the adventure of moving because we were excited about it. As we got closer to Christmas, one day she came into the kitchen and asked Cynthia what was on her mind: Does Santa know where to find us? In Morgan’s mind, we had moved, so maybe Santa would show up at the wrong house, and wonder why we weren’t there. We assured Morgan, Santa knows these things—Santa’s elves are always updating the database. She looked relieved…but then she looked puzzled. “But how is Santa going to get into our house? We don’t have a chimney!” Is this Christmas going to be different for you? Are you wondering if Jesus can find you with all the changes you have had? Fortunately, our passages for today help us answer these questions.
First, Jesus knows what it’s like to have a messy life. We like the idea of a neat and ordered existence, but usually, that’s just not how life works. In his book, Messy Spirituality: God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People, Mike Yaconelli wrote, “All of us tend to seek comfort, to structure predictability, to eliminate the new and different from our experience. The word, 'messy,' strikes fear into the hearts of the comfortable. According to the comfortable, God does what He always does. ‘God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow,’ which they interpret as ‘stays the same.’ There are those in the church who honestly believe God is a nice and neat God. One quick run through the Bible gives you a different picture. The God of the Bible is a master of surprises: frightening clouds of smoke and fire, earthquakes, windstorms and firestorms, donkeys that talk, pillars of salt, oceans splitting apart, using a little boy to kill a giant, the Messiah in swaddling clothes and dying on a cross. No one can follow God and be comfortable for long.”[1] Our passage from Matthew today tells the story of how messy Jesus’ life started out. To start with, Mary and Joseph have to go to Bethlehem to register for taxes at a very inconvenient time, and then—wouldn’t you know it—the baby decides it’s time while to be born while they are in this strange city. And still, they make a life there, but then Mary, Joseph and two-year old Jesus had to flee from Palestine and move to Egypt, because the King was after them. Our passage tells the story of how they also moved back to Palestine from Egypt, certainly before Jesus was 12—though we don’t know exactly when. And they tried to move back to Bethlehem, but ended up in two days travel north in Nazareth. There’s nothing easy about all that! When we are dealing with our messy lives, trying to figure out where we are, trying to understand what our life is going to be like now—we know that Jesus gets it. Changing cultures, homes, jobs, relationships—yep, Jesus has been there, and Jesus gets that all that can be challenging. So Jesus doesn’t stand in judgment, but comes alongside us in the messiness of our lives.
Second, Jesus walks with us wherever we go. Have you ever tried walking hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm with someone? It’s trickier than people think, right? When I was in high school, I was 6’2”, and one young woman I dated was 4’11”! I like snuggling up to someone, so when we would go for a walk, she would put her arm around my waist, and I would put my arm around her shoulders. The next thing we had to figure out was how to match our strides, right? I mean, if I walked with my full long stride, she would have to jump on each step. So it was much easier for us if I shortened my stride. When I imagine Jesus walking with me, I think Jesus probably has to adjust to the way I’m walking and living—maybe He’s got a longer spiritual stride than I do. Maybe Jesus is bigger and stronger in the faith than I am. Still Jesus walks with us, runs and plays with us, goes with us wherever we do. Part of why I love the story of Jesus and His family evacuating to Egypt and then coming back, going to Bethlehem and then on to Nazareth, is that God cared for them throughout that journey. In the same way, Jesus is with us wherever we go, however we are, walking with us, sharing our days, loving us through thick and thin, through all the changes. Jesus walks with us wherever we go.
Finally, Jesus walks us home. One Halloween, my friend and I decided to watch the original Halloween movie—the one with Jason, and Jamie Lee Curtis? It was just the two of us watching the movie…late at night…in a big, empty, dark house…and we were pretty freaked out by the movie. So when the movie finished, my friend and I agreed that I would walk her home…at midnight…through the fog… and we were really glad when we got to her house. She went inside and I realized that I had miscalculated…because I was going to have to walk home…by myself…at midnight…through the fog…and did I say the grass was slippery from the dew? I stood there for a moment, undecided, then I ran like something was after me all the way home. That’s the thing: when we walk someone home, there comes a moment when we realize, “Wait! Who’s going to walk me home?” That’s where Jesus comes in. In John, on the last night Jesus was with His friends, He didn’t just pray for Himself. He didn’t just pray for His friends. He prayed for us. He prayed, “Father, I want those you have given to me to be with me, to be where I am. I want them to see my glory…” That means Jesus is not only going to walk with us, He’s also going to walk us home. We don’t have to worry that it’s dark or foggy or scary…or messy…in our lives. Jesus wants to be with us. Jesus wants to walk us home.
Morgan’s worries about Santa make a lot of sense for a two-year old. How is Santa going to know where we are? How is Santa going to get in with our presents? We told Morgan that chimneys were just a convenient way in for Santa. I mean after all, Santa has to park the reindeer on top of the house, so chimneys make it easier to get in. But Santa is magic…he doesn’t need a chimney to get in with the gifts. He can just walk in. Right? Morgan’s face brightened. Christmas was going to happen after all! But really, Morgan’s questions are ours too, especially at this time of the year: Does God know where we are? Can God reach us with His grace, even if we can’t see how? The answer of course is yes! That’s why Jesus came, to show us that our unpredictable, messy lives can’t get in the way—Jesus comes to us as we are. That’s why Jesus came, to show us that wherever we go, through every change, every heart-ache, every joy—Jesus will walk with us. It’s not magic…it’s better! Because at the end of every day, and especially the end of our days, Jesus will walk us home. Christmas is the story of Jesus coming, so God could walk us home.
[1]Michael Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality: God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), pp 42-43.