He's Here!

A Reflection on the First Reading for December 25, 2022:
​The Nativity of the Lord

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Isaiah
​52.7-10
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How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

“She’s here!”

“I said she was coming.” 

As I walked in the door of my friend’s home, these were the words I was immediately welcomed with – an exchange between my friend and her then three-year-old daughter. As the little girl turned to see who was coming in the door she exclaimed these words in a very awestruck whisper – as only a three-year-old can. Her face alight with wonder and her eyes wide as her little mouth formed a little “o” of exclamation. It was one of the best welcomes I have ever received in my life. She was in such awe that I was actually there. This little girl is now 11, going on 42,  and is rather indifferent when I walk through their door these days, yet the memory of that awe remains with me. An awesome awe, if you will. I felt that my arrival was highly anticipated and I had just made her day. Without even bringing a gift or treat – which I usually do. It was just me. And the little girl was completely fine with that. She wasn’t looking around to see if I had a bag or box in my hand. She saw me, and was genuinely delighted that I had arrived – just as her mother said I would. 

And just as my friend told her daughter I was coming, Isaiah foretells of another “visitor.” Isaiah has spoken often of this visitor’s coming, and many have been waiting – longing, even – for His arrival. From these words of the prophet I get that same sense of awesome awe. We have been waiting for the coming of Emmanuel to bring a brightness to the dark and cold that the season of Advent sets itself in and, seemingly all of a sudden: He is here! The Light that will dispel all the darkness is here! 

It strikes me that Isaiah says, “..for in plain sight they see…”  Because Christ’s coming into our world is not a simple thing. It’s a big deal. However, just as that three-year-old saw with her own eyes that I had come, we too on Christmas morning can see clearly that Christ has come. Do I welcome the Christ child with the same awe and wonder of a human child? After all, He has not just come for a “visit” to make the day better. But rather He came to make our lives better. Jesus did not come empty handed. He came bringing comfort, redemption, and salvation for all. But these “gifts” do not have a physical form that can be wrapped in pretty paper and tied with a shiny bow.  In Christ’s arrival we know that the real gift is not something but Someone – wrapped simply in swaddling clothes and plainly seen. And we ought to be in awe because… He’s here!




Aurea Sadi​

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