The Advent journey invites us to realize the state of the world at the time God decided to send His Son to be our Savior.  The first verse of the Christmas Carol “In the Bleak Midwinter” gives a vivid description:

“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;  snow had fallen, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long ago.”  (words by Christina Rossetti, 1872).

Perhaps the phrase that jumps out for me is “Earth stood hard as iron”.  What does that sort of hardness look like in terms of humanity?  Has the cruelty of circumstances beaten creation down, trodden like a stampeded path?  Is life so parched that it has split into a dry gulch…empty, torn, void?  What about the hardness?  Have hearts been so broken that they are no longer able to feel?

Perhaps the journey to receiving the gift of the Savior of the world is the realization that we need a Savior.  God’s gift is for the whole world, poured out unconditionally.  The only part we play is to believe we are in need of a Savior.  A broken world, a broken heart, understands the words, the life of Jesus, “This is my body broken for YOU!”

The process of our journey is not becoming perfect.  It is becoming authentic.  Self-awareness grows by being fully present in every moment, taking risks in order to follow, letting go, being open to receive. In God’s timing the Light will come! “Usually we are only truly authentic when we know we are lost.  In the context of the mystery of salvation, it is the safest place to be.” (“Mile Markers, Daniel J. O’Leary)

And so the story goes…God came to earth as a baby born in a manger in the bleak midwinter of life!

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Pondering…

Read again the words to the song and look at the photo.  How might you relate this to the world today and/or your own life found in the images presented in the bleak midwinter?

How might we become more authentic on this Advent journey?