Jesus Is Coming

Once I got a Christmas card from a friend with a decorative stamp on the back of the envelope that said, “Jesus is coming. Look busy!”

Being busy as we anticipate our celebration of the birth of Jesus isn’t a problem for most of us, as the days before Christmas are filled with cooking and baking, house cleaning, decorating, buying and wrapping gifts, organizing or attending holiday get-togethers and events, and practices for the choir or other liturgical ministries. There’s no need to look busy, because we are busy!

I have yet to see a stamp that says, “Jesus is coming. Be still!” It’s not that Christ doesn’t appear to busy people — it’s just that people who are still are more likely to notice Christ’s presence. In stillness, we observe the random acts of kindness that occur around us every day. In stillness, we see Christ’s manifestation in the sunset or in an evergreen tree. In stillness, we hear God say, “Do not be afraid; I am with you.”

Jesus himself was often busy during his years of public ministry with the demands of healing and preaching. Serving others necessarily entails a certain amount of busyness. However, the gospels tell us that Jesus also frequently withdrew to a quiet place to be still and totally present to the Father, who guided and sustained him.

Jesus is coming. Let us celebrate, both in the bustle of our communal life with others and in the stillness of our heart where we hear God whisper our name — “Beloved.”