And this connectedness brings us closer to God and teaches us that we cannot remove ourselves from the ordinary and normal and gritty life we find around us; as it is in this ordinary and normal and gritty life that the new normal is born and found. By being connected to God we become part of the new normal. This new normal, this life with Christ, which is accessible to all, can then become normal, but not normal in a way that makes it mundane, but normal in a new way that is joyful and beautiful and wise, and ultimately changes the world. And that is what the Incarnation does for us as we enter into Christmas, born anew with Christ: we manifestly turn normal into a new and different normal, we manifestly turn the grittiness of the world into a new loveliness. We turn the world's expectations upside down.

This concept can seem a bit dense sometimes for me. When I face a stumbling block such as can be found in trying to comprehend God being among us as a babe in a barn, I try different approaches to prayer. If any of you have seen my office, you know I have a penchant for icons. There is an ancient icon (a copy of which I do not, yet, possess) called Our Lady of Tenderness which was made in the 12^th Century. In the icon, the female figure holding the child has her right hand underneath the child and her left hand is out-stretched in a peculiar fashion causing wonder at what that hand is doing. The spiritualist Henri Nouwen describes it this way:  

At first I thought the Virgin pointed to Jesus with her open hand. I now realize that the word "point" misrepresents the true meaning of her gesture. She is not simply asking attention to her Son, nor is she directing us to him. That would be too external, manipulative and controlling. I have slowly come to see the Virgin's gesture as a gentle invitation to move closer to Jesus and discover in that movement the God to whom we belong.  

A gentle invitation to move closer to Jesus and discover in that movement the God to whom we belong. By our looking at the infant Jesus, by our moving closer to that mystery of God taking human form, we are taking a step into and embracing that non-discriminating love that God bestows upon any who step into that nearness. For this mystery of the Incarnation is one of those thin places in life where God is being made known to us: where God is being exposed to us. And what a joyful gift that is to those of us who want to live into that new normal being proclaimed this evening, that new connectedness to the world. By re-engaging in the birth of Jesus each year, we are being reminded that we can be born anew, we can enter into a new normal, where joy and love and hope and a world turned upside down, where all are welcome, becomes real and tangible and alive and among us.  

The joyfulness we feel in our generosity in the gift giving and receiving that is such a prevalent part of the Christmas season provides a glimmer of this new normal Christ's birth provides for us. In those moments of joy, keep awake for you will find God right there with you, smiling at that generosity and the joy that can flow from it. We then must take that spirit that exists at those moments and transplant that into the new normal we proclaim tonight, making that joy and love a normal part of everyday life for all.