Advent:: Shepherds

The concept of God can be overwhelming. 

Omnipotent.
Omniscient.
Omnipresent.

Above, beyond, eternal, creator, maker and judge. 
We call out to God to hear us, intervene on our behalf and save us. 

Only God is able to help us when all human methods have failed.
Only God hears us when everyone else has abandoned us.
Only God has the power to create and destroy the universe that surrounds us. 

This mix can be incredibly comforting and incredibly fear-inducing. The power that is held in God can empower the powerless, but it can also create feelings of fear and insignificance. 

This week we remember that in a humble stable this God of all power, presence and knowledge became like one of us. God became limited in the same ways that we are limited to make the vast love and power of God tangible. 

When we feel all alone we pray to a God who was abandoned by all of those who were closet to Him. 
When we feel powerless we pray to a God who experienced the powerlessness of being a child. 
When we ask God to use power on behalf of the marginalized we are praying to the God who did that very same thing as Jesus Christ. 

Because of Christmas God's power, presence and knowledge is personal. We are never alone and the difficult path to being fully human has been charted before us by Jesus Christ.