♪ Silent Night ... by Taylor Swift?

In my weekly missive to my Jonathan's family, I mused on celebrating Advent.  As an adult it seems a little passé, sometimes, since baby Jesus was born all those years ago and hasn't decided to come back as He promised, thus so far...and yet...

...within the mystery of why He chose to become incarnate is the reason for the annual liturgical observances.

No other god, no other deity, no other supreme being walked among mortals. Why would they need to? They were SUPREME beings. No need for mortal sustenance, mortal relationships, mortal interactions. Why demote yourself to this planet if you are a Greek or Roman deity, an female goddess, a  Creator God? No need, no interest. 

I listened to a new version of Silent Night this morning with a little Appalachian influence, more plaintive, quietly reflective. Funny that it would be from a teen-idol pop star, the flaxen-spiral-curled Taylor Swift, who is this generation's crossover Olivia Newton-John. ;-)

Yes she's a pop star...and a musician who writes her own music in response to what is around her..Silent Night. When the organ pipes failed and Franz Gruber wrote a song that Father Mohr played "unplugged". He wrote in response to what was happening. God did the same thing, in deciding to show up here, incarnate.

That particular story of the manger sums up God to me. A Creator of galaxies, the universe, and this silly planet with all of its wonders decided to go through what we do.

 Glory in spite of mortal failure.

Birth, childhood, adolescence, single adulthood -- living with his mothah until he was 30 ( in Jewish cultchah,  when he should have been mahrried at 20, oye, the shame ) -- in a primitive barbaric oppressed nation, and then choosing an agonizing death. 

Glory in spite of mortal failure.

God cares about us silly stupid stubborn people, who live in poverty like He did, or comfort like King Herod did just up the hill from the manger. He cares, far beyond enough, about us to literally go through this life.

I got to watch Brett and the other Youth hang banners proclaiming joy this morning, in spite of my crazy life and achy off-balance existence without my grey-haired blue-eyed boy. A group of families came to lay garlands on the altar rails, and another couple placed huge poinsettias on the chancel altar. Little kids hung gold and white Chrismons on a sparkly tree. Not just tradition, although some take comfort in that, but a big vivid Thank You because He, Jesus, chose to live this mortal life.

You've seen the adage 'only two individuals give their lives for you, the American soldier and Jesus Christ". True enough...but the American soldier didn't choose to be born. Only one person ever did, and His birthday is celebrated at the end of this month.