God Is Truly With Us

Adam, the eldest boy child, introduced me to the artwork of Scott Erickson (aka Scott the Painter) a while back. I love how gritty his Advent images are. So Merry Christmas! May your day be full of reminders that the hope of Israel, and the world, was born. God is truly with us.

To quote the Gospel of John:

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (John 1:14 – The Message)

I remember when my daughter Elsa came out of her mama. I was standing next to @hollymerickson when it happened. She pushed her out, and then we looked at each other, and instantly burst into tears. I remember the action being involuntary… as if I had witnessed something that could only be expressed in the breaking of my socially conformed demeanor. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had in my life. . . To see what you have hoped for for so long is a breaking experience. . . It’s breaking in a way that we all want to experience. Like when we hear a song lyric that makes us tear up. Or we witness a sappy commercial that somehow tickles our heart and we apologize to our friends for getting emotional over it. We get emotional because we are witnessing something True. Not true as an ideology that we used to draw lines and make teams. But something true that unites us. A moment of solidarity. A connecting happening that awakens us to see that we are not alone. Like when a group of strangers watches the sunset together. Or somebody shares a tasty dish with someone else and says “you must try this! It’s so good!” Or when a newborn baby enters the room and everybody turns and looks because they know they are witnessing something vulnerable. . . I wonder if what broke in the room with Mary and Joseph was the wall between ideology and incarnation? That the idea of God with Us moved just from a belief into a very actual little breathing human that spoke more truth than any holy scripture could. . . I have no idea how… But please Lord, would you give us the gift of that breaking? . . #visualprayers #visiodivina #visualprayer #christchild #adventcontemplation #advent #spiritualpractice #spiritualformation #jesus #mothermary #birth #birthing #meditation #contemplation

A post shared by Scott Erickson (@scottthepainter) on Dec 18, 2017 at 8:46am PST