In the beginning of the gospel of Matthew, the secret of the ancients is revealed  in the whisper of an angel.  Emmanuel, God, is with us.  At the end of the Christian scriptures in Revelations the same truth is reiterated: our God lives among us.

This one truth perdures throughout our sacred scriptures and tradition: the immanence of the Holy One  has
made all existence the dwelling place of God.

And if we have forgotten the melody of praise; if we have lost the rhythm of the dance of gratitude; if we have
been blinded to the beauty of love, this coming of the Word made flesh proclaims and reclaims the truth of
human existence: this world is the womb of God-with-us and all within it are sisters and brothers.

It is the heartbeat of God that sustains and nourishes the community of the living as we remember the ancient
truth that Christmas reveals.

In the fullness of time, this babe, this child of grace, wisdom and peace wipes away all tears from the eyes of 
the suffering, rescues us from death, raises us to life, heals our mourning in an embrace of compassion and
comforts our sadness.

He has recovered for us the melody, the dance, the beauty of a life lived in self-giving, mindfulness and graciousness.

In the silent night of God's revelation, we kneel in wonder and profound awe of the mystery and meaning of God-with-us in all through all and with all.

Glory to God and peace on earth.

The Fullness of Time

The fullness of time is the time of our emptiness...so that in us and through us  Christ 
may bring the fullness of his truth to the world.
                                                                                                                                Thomas Merton

The season of Advent, the month leading up to Christmas...is a time of expectant anticipation 
and repentant preparation.  The stories of the first Christmas 
are filled with light and fulfillment-- Jesus is the light in the darkness and the fulfillment 
of God's promise to ancient Israel's yearning.
                                                                                                                                      The First Christmas

From his fullness, we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law 
was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  
                                                                                                                                     John 1:16-17

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law...
God sent the Spirit of the Son into our hearts, crying out Abba, Father.
                                                                                                                                        Galatians 4: 4 -6