Much taken on faith (Second Sunday in Advent)

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Peace is the theme for this coming week. Peace, peace.... Easy to wish for others, not always easy to claim for myself, mostly because I'm living with one foot in this realm, another beyond the veil, and corporeal human life these days is....difficult.

Not on a health-level, not economic. Not in most face-value manners, so outwardly my life is happy. Fulfilling. Yet.... Yet my nation is fraught with BS politicians and billionaires and it makes me wanna puke. Hard to be peaceful when so much shite is stirred up, so much hypocrisy, so much.... I've already swore once, don't need to belabor the massive wrongs awaiting. Why it's hard to be at peace, that corporeal foot feeling stuck in concrete.

But what about my other leg, another possibility? Can I take on faith that all will be well, no matter how futile the outlook seems? Can I seek a different render of the future, perhaps many years from now, maybe beyond my presence, or even tomorrow? How bleak must life have seemed for Mary and Joseph as they trudged toward Bethlehem, with no booked accommodations, no family waiting, and Mary in a very precarious situation. That is what Advent is about, preparing for new life, a new heart, a new opportunity. Taken heavily on faith; it was all this couple had. They had faith, then soldiered on, uncertain of maybe ninety percent of what was going to happen. Ten percent was a baby. After that, nothing was assured.

This is what I must cling to when peace eludes. Or even if I'm feeling buoyant, because that sense also feels artificial, so downcast am I not only by what my nation has chosen for the incoming administration, but the unwillingness of so many to vote. Is that how Joseph felt when inquiring for just one room for his pregnant wife? Could anyone spare them a decent space, give them a break? According to the Gospels, no one did, and Mary had her baby in barn. They were poor, not local, unwanted. How many politicians miss the frigging point on the immigration issue by conveniently looking the other way, especially at this time of year (not to mention how many of these politicians claim to know Christ)?

Both my feet are wobbly, what happens when I get judgy. High horses are tempting, but when they throw me to the ground, OUCH! Suffice to say, peace is better when my backside isn't aching. Peace is mine for the taking, if I can set aside my anger and disappointment and embrace the possible. Had anyone done that for Mary and Joseph, a baby would have thrilled their hearts, and if they had possessed opened eyes, that particular newborn might have done even more. Shepherds heralded this baby, wise men brought gifts. The paradox of Christian faith is that in the meanest, most unassuming moments, grace thrives.

May I have the grace, and patience, to grasp that this month and beyond.

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