Putting Away Baby Jesus
For we have not a great high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. – Hebrews 4:15 (NRSV)
The baby Jesus finally got put away. I hadn’t planned on extending the 12 Days of Christmas to four weeks before boxing up shepherds, kings, and angels, but some years are like that.
Sometimes the journey of faith is like that, too. It takes longer to put baby Jesus away and get back to the adult things of life—like congregational budget meetings and planning for Lent.
Yet, as strange as it may sound, it’s good news that baby Jesus must get put away every year. Stores and malls have to move on to other important holidays, like Groundhog Day and Super Bowl Sunday. But we Christians put away the baby Jesus for a different reason:
Our faith calls us to encounter the adult Jesus, not just the child. The grown-up Jesus who told stories that challenged people to think about God, themselves, and this world in new ways. The one who cried out for justice and gave his life for others. Long after our culture has stopped oohing and aahing over the cute baby in the cowshed, we’re called into a relationship with the Jesus who lived a fully human life with adult joys and adult sorrows, who had grown-up dreams and knew grown-up defeat, even death itself.
Four weeks after Christmas, the good news is the baby grew up, put away his toys, and took on the adult life that you and I lead. Because he did, we can be assured in our grown-up lives that the living, life-giving presence of God is still with us, with our church, and with this world, now and always.
Prayer
Baby Jesus, thank you for growing up. Amen.
About the AuthorTalitha Arnold is Senior Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe (UCC), Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the author of Mark Parts 1 and 2 of the Listen Up! Bible Study series and Worship for Vital Congregations.