Paul's letter to the Colossians asserts that "in Christ all things hold together" (Col. 1:17).
As I meditated on the Feasts of the Nativity, and of Stephen the deacon and martyr, and of John the evangelist while preparing my sermon for today, I didn't consciously have Paul's words in mind (I hadn't read them yet) but as I read them during Morning Prayer that phrase crystallized my thinking.
In Jesus the infant we see God's tenderness toward his creation, like the tenderness of a mother toward her child, and we are encouraged to become tender ourselves toward all who are homeless, or outcast, or downtrodden, or who have "no place for them," like Joseph and Mary.
In the man Jesus we, like Stephen the deacon, see a figure who leads us into radical inclusiveness, setting an example as he "stretched out [his] arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of [his] saving embrace" (BCP 101). Stephen burned out quickly, as his fiery preaching ensured he would make enemies among the council in Jerusalem.
Upon mature reflection, we may come like John to realize that in Christ, all things really do hold together, from time itself, to the creation in which the Word played a leading role, to the light which comes into the world, full of grace and truth, and overcomes darkness forever.
May your life "hold together in Christ" -- tender toward others, inclusive of all, and full of light -- in this Christmas season and always.
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