So here we are together again. The colorful lights are in our eyes, and Christmas is in our hearts. We look where we are and wonder where we will be. Nat King Cole is singing chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Unique creations are we. We are more wonderful than a handblown Christmas glass ornament. Special we are and proudly showing our seams. The Creator works with many colors. He likes diversity. God enjoys something different.

The Shepherds saw the Star by night that led them to the Miracle of the Ages in a tiny package. A stable with animals that belonged there. Hay and probably animal dung. Mary and Joseph traveled a long way to fulfill what God had asked them. They were not elite. They were not rich or known among the wise Pharisees. They were simple folk, poor and content to follow the Star. The political leaders of the day were unaware of Christ’s birth. They did not get the memo. There was no proclamation in the Temple on the high Holy Days. There was neither a feast nor a celebration, but a quiet invitation to those who would be vital to the Story. You see, there is what is going on in the popular story of our time, and then there is the real Story that many diverse poor and humble people are vital to its telling.

We gather to celebrate the birth of the Little Miracle. He was like us. He was unsung and unheralded. He was born with the sheep and oxen. He enjoyed seeing the Seams in his small celebration of Birth. After all, he was God and Man in the incarnate gift to humanity. Jesus relished the Seams in his creation. He understood every stitch. What a peculiar creation that would carry the Christian message. Neither was accepted by the elite or the religious leaders. Washer Women and Laborers, black and white folks loved him, and he loved them. A woman caught in adultery and those who enjoyed wine and song. The tax collector and the fisherman loved him because he saw their needs and their Seams and rejoiced! They were his creation he loved them all for their uniqueness.