When King Herod heard of the child,
           he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him.
                           —Matthew 2.3


Beware the faith that does not trouble the world.
Beware of the false prophets who judge the world
but leave the powerful in their places.
What the Magi believe, Herod understands viscerally:
the Prince of Peace comes
to usurp the power of the princes of this world,
to replace oppression with justice.

The Star of Epiphany is the light of Creation;
for God comes not just to save you
but to remake the world.

Be mindful you follow a dangerous man.
Expect the world to be alarmed at your savior.
Pray for the courage to follow:
surely Herod will retaliate,
for power always resists grace.
The love of power is always frightened
at the power of love.
Know this, and stay faithful.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

           Magi from the East came to Jerusalem, asking,
           “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?”
                           —Matthew 2.1-2

They weren’t searching for treasure.
They weren’t hoping to meet emperors or movie stars.
They must have declined 100 invitations to digress
and temptations to turn around.
They likely encountered the cutest kids in the world—
but not the one they sought.

In your dealings, your duties digressions,
it’s easy to look for trouble, look for the advantage,
look for fault, look for comfort.
It’s easy to settle for sentiment, for fitting in, for happiness.
Don’t. Resist the distractions.
Seek the holy.

Seek the divine,
even in those who do not know it in themselves.
Seek the hopeful even in the dull and despairing.
Notice those moments of courageous love,
of suffering wisdom and gentle resolve.
The Christ child—the vulnerable presence of God—
is among us.
Look.
Look deeper.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

You come,
yearned for but uninvited,
defenseless and undefended,
to touch our hunger for what we didn’t know we lacked,
to sit with us in silence before the great mystery,
to live gently among our wars and insults,
to accompany us in all that is terrible and wonderful.
You bring the great blanket of the universe
with you, wrap it around our shoulders,
and behold the night.
An infant, you come, not to command but to evoke.
Gazing into your newborn eyes
we become lovers, beautiful and noble
and generous and brave.
You come to share our disappointment with us
so that we might share your hope.
You come into our uncertainties
and show us how to be ourselves.
Welcome, Beloved, welcome.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

           The Word became flesh and lived among us.
                           —John 1.14


Christmas is not merely about a little babe once upon a time,
but the Incarnation: God’s Word made flesh,
God’s love embodied among us,
God’s will, that is, God’s delight, living among us
and within us, the miracle of living itself.
This is a new Creation,
the bursting forth of God’s light in our darkness,
the birthing of God’s love in our hearts.
This is a day of our belonging,
as God, in infinite power and love,
chooses to belong to us, who belong to God.
This day we celebrate the undoing of our undoing:
the healing of our imagined wound:
for now we know, from manger to cross,
God is one of us, and we are one of God.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Amid the bustling and the noise,
the chores and obligations and distractions,
may the peace of God—the harmony of all things—
be with you.
Amid the conflict, the fear and rage,
may the peace of God—infinite love and forgiveness—
be with you.
As the babe in a mother’s arms is at peace,
may you be at peace in God.

As the resting mother is at peace
gratefully holding her child, safely delivered,
her love flowing mightily,
may you be at peace
with God in your arms.
The deep, flowing peace of God be with you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Mary, haloed
in sweat,

groaning in labor,
your cry

mingling with
the songs of angels,

giving life
with your body—

Mary, nursing
that baby,

your dreams mingling
with those of the prophets,

giving life
with your body—

Mary, you give birth to the Word
without speaking:

“This is my body,
given for you.”

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

On this longest night let the darkness
wrap her generous arms around you,
her deep voice hold you gently.
Let her kiss awake your longing for the light,
too easily forgotten on bright days.
At peace in her inky embrace let your hunger arise
for light—not to banish the darkness,
for she is your friend—
but love for the way she holds the light,
not the harsh glint of riches or certainty,
but the warmth of the light in her eyes,
her assurance that even in deepest darkness
the light accompanies you.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness does not want to overcome it.
They are sisters.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

           Joseph also went
           from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea,
           to the city of David called Bethlehem,
           because he was descended from the house and family of David. 
                           —Luke 2.4

We grew up on stories of Jesus born in a stable,
homeless and rejected.
But that’s not what Luke describes.
Theirs was a family-centered culture.
Joseph’s kin would have welcomed him in to their home.
The “inn” is a poor translation of what really was
the upstairs guest room (crowded with all the kinfolk!).
The manger was not out in a stable
but in the lower room of the house,
where the animals were fed at night.
Luke isn’t portraying a baby born in the outskirts,
but born among family—
crowded, noisy, and probably festive.
As an adult Jesus spent lots of time
among the outcasts, the un-familied.
But his roots are in family. 

So. Finding family among the marginalized isn’t hereditary.
It’s a choice.
Much like God’s choice to come be with us,
to dwell with us, to choose us as family.
Maybe Christmas is about choosing family
among whoever needs it.

       God, thank you for choosing us as your family.
       Help me to choose as wisely, and as widely, as you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

           Blessed is she who believed
           that there would be a fulfillment
           of what was spoken to her by God.
                           —Luke 1.45

This time of year we’re told to “believe.”
But what does that mean?
Judging from the movies to believe
means to believe in magic, or Santa, or romance,
to be optimistically wishful and naïve.
In many Christian circles to believe means
to think, as in believing certain doctrines are true.
But the word “believe” comes from old English,
rooted in German, belieben—to love.
In scripture to believe means to give your heart:
to lovingly entrust yourself, not to an idea but to a person.

Blessed is she who trusts God, and the power of love.
Blessed is she who trusts
that God’s promise will be fulfilled in her.
Blessed is she who trusts
that her love is more powerful than empires.
Blessed is she who entrusts herself
to the One who births her,
and who is in her, and whom she births.
Blessed is she who trusts her worthiness,
that her calling is sure and her gift is needed
and her voice carries weight.
Blessed is she who gives herself over
to the divine work of bearing love into the world.

Blessed are you,
and blessed is the fruit of the womb of your heart.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

December 17, 2021

           God, you have shown strength with your arm;
           you have scattered the proud
           in the thoughts of their hearts.
           You have brought down the powerful from their thrones,
           and lifted up the lowly.
                           ——Luke 1.51-52

Oh, Mary, you know perfectly well
how revolutionary this is,
how the power structures fight this,
how the world is opposed to God.
And you know in the fight
you will lose much.
Give me courage, Mother of Love,
to stand against the powers,
that they might be brought down,
to use what I have to lift the lowly,
to find my strength not in my powers
but in your love
that brings us all into one circle,
all your Beloved.
Mary, may your vision be my hope
and my courage.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net