He was but two,
the age they call “terrible,”
the age that elicits terrible questions too.
He stood at the crib at the church’s entrance;
he glanced up at the cross in the church’s sanctuary.
Then Aidan asked his mother,
“How can Jesus be both here and there?”
from “Aidan’s Question” by Bishop Robert Morneau, A Splash of Sunshine and Other Glimpses of Grace, Orbis Books, 2011.
Aidan’s question resonates deeply in me in these days leading up to Christmas. For especially now we Christians face this great, painful and glorious paradox of the wood – the wood of the stable and the wood of the cross. Back in my undergraduate days, I wrote this (very) short poem:
Word
turned flesh
falling from above
finding rest
in a cross-stitched world
of straw
and wood.
Cross-stitched we are, indeed. We are sewn and bound together in faith by these two images, one of the Baby Jesus lying in the manger and the other of a full-grown 30-something man hanging on a cross. In both he is held by the things of earth, by the texture and smell of wood and soil and iron.
Yet he is God from God, light from light, present at the creation. He is both the voice that speaks the words, “Let there be light,” and he is the Word itself. And yet he cries out to his mother, holds out his arms to find her breast in the dark of the stable.
He is the promised of nations, the Prince of Peace, Lord of Light and Lord of All. And yet he sleeps soundly in his puzzled father’s arms.
Ours is a faith built on these paradoxes of wood, and many others as well.
We place our faith, our very lives, in something we cannot see. We sing, we pray, we worship a God while some scoff at us for addressing thin air.
We hold out our hands and accept small pieces of flat bread and tiny sips of wine because we believe them to be the very real presence of Christ’s body and blood. Two disparate things seemingly in the same place at the same time.
This is life for us searching and questioning souls living here on earth. And the truth is, we need the mystery of being “here and there at the same time.” We need it somewhere deep down, some place too far away to reach and, yet, there it is out of the corner of our eye. We need to know God is above us, watching over us, guiding the universe, but we need to know that God is right here, right now, as close as a whispered prayer.
For we belong both here and there. We are both here and there. We are soul and we are body. Although I like C.S. Lewis’ version of this theology better:
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”
——–
Previous thoughts on advent and Christmas:
Waiting for Christ with Bright Eyes
We are here to reflect the light, to send it to every corner in this very hurting world. May we all do that to the best of our ability, even though often we block out the light. I like what you’ve written–we belong both here and there; we are both here and there. We need to get more comfortable with that notion–we are souls who happen right now to have a body.
Dear Steve,
We are all on this earth to achieve what God has sent us to do – different abilities but all serving the same purpose – to proclaim his word . If we all on this earth follow Jesus guidelines which is so simple but so effective – how things would be different. I hope you health is on the mend and I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thanks, Lysiane. Health is very good these days. Merry Christmas to you and yours…
Great thoughts, Barbara. Merry Christmas!
Steve
You often put into words what many of us feel, but don’t seem to be able to express as well as you can. Your words, reflections and photos always bring the true meaning of what it means to be a follower of our Lord, Jesus Christ to the forefront. You are am example to all of us. I am happy to be numbered among your friends and wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and continued good health. Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself with me and mine.
Thanks, Jim. Kind and thoughtful words. I miss seeing your face once in a while….
Steve
Great piece. Thanks for posting.
Thanks, Sharon. See you soon. Since you work like 4 feet from me…
Steve
YOUR ARTICLES IN LIVING FAITH ARE SO WONDERFUL. I HOPE YOUR STEM CELL TRANSPLANT WAS SUCCESFUL. I PRAY FOR YOUR RECOVERY.
GOD MUST HAVE GREAT PLANS FOR YOU. HANG IN THERE. WE ALL
NEED YOUR INSPIRATION.
Thanks, Genie. I’m doing well these days. As I wrote in my blog back in June, the transplant ended up not being necessary.
All the best,
Steve
You inspire me — with your words and with your strength. I am so pleased that you are doing well! God’s gifts, and the way we use them is awe-inspiring. I work to see God’s plan each day. You help me.
Christmas Blessings and a Joyous New Year!