by Rev. Bob Molsberry
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ~ Luke 1:26-33
When God decides to incarnate, you have to shuffle all the furniture around to make room.
Disruption happens at Christmas, when you have to move your couches and chairs and coffee tables to make room for the giant Christmas tree that seems a lot bigger in your living room than it did in the lot.
It happens in pregnancy, when a moment of passion and ecstasy creates a new living thing that makes room for itself in the mother’s womb, shoving aside her internal organs, disrupting digestion and blood pressure and sleep patterns, and making a throne for itself right on top of her bladder. Or so I’ve been told. And the result is an explosion of life that rearranges all your life’s furniture for the rest of your existence.
And it happened with Jesus, as social mores about unmarried pregnancies were ignored, and there was no room in the inn, and the entire Roman empire was too cramped for the advent of God’s presence in flesh.
It rearranges your priorities, promoting generosity and compassion while casting aside selfishness and greed. It reshuffles your politics, dealing structures to protect the widow, orphan, and sojourner, and a full hand for the vulnerable while, for a change, discarding the wealthy and powerful.
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. We’ll rearrange the furniture for you.
Bob Molsberry
Thank you to Rev. Bob Molsberry for sharing this Advent Reflection. Rev. Bob Molsberry is a retired UCC pastor living in Iowa City, but still serving as Conference Deacon and UCC Pension Boards Annuitant Visitor for eastern Iowa.