When Jesus came into the world he came as God in skin.
He came human.
Like you and like me.
When Jesus came into the world he came as a baby birthed
and then placed on the chest of a woman.
Let’s contemplate the gift of a baby-Jesus.
When Jesus came into the world he came vulnerable
and in need.
He was carried and fed and nurtured and loved by us.
When Jesus came into the world he came first as one who receives.
He received from our humanity –from our displaced manger homes.
He received us, and it restored us.
Could it be his first miracle?
The first act of redemption?
A holy restoration begins here-
when the Christ-child is placed into arms like mine.
When Jesus came into the world he showed us what is possible.
He came as a son and he called me a daughter.
He is Jesus, our brother.
This Jesus.
Let’s bring this Jesus to the world.
The Jesus who invites the tax collector back into hospitality.
The Jesus who sees.
The Jesus who stops for the bleeding woman, freed from her suffering.
The Jesus who weeps.
He didn’t draw lines, make borders or limits and urges us to do the same.
This Jesus.
Let’s bring this Jesus to the world.
Because, when this Jesus comes into our world he returns us to ourselves.
He meets us at the well of our wandering and tells us who we are.
He bends down to write in the dust of our shame and he meets our eyes with grace.
This Jesus stretches wide the margins of our hearts letting all be gathered in
as this story is birthed again and again.
Church, let’s deliver this Jesus to the world.
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Jessica Williams is a poet from Winnipeg, Canada and a grad student at St. Stephen's University in New Brunswick. She shares this poem to a class on "Pauline themes through the Eyes of the Early Church Fathers."
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