Artwork:
The Nativity by Paul Gauguin, (1896) is an oil on canvas painting in the Post-Impressionist style. Housed at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Gauguin portrays the sorrow of the Virgin Mary, aware of the fate that awaits her son Jesus while an angel watches over the scene.

Advent Devotional

Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Christmas story is the juxtaposition of the supernatural and the mundane. The Son of God lies in an animal’s feeding trough. The One who crafted the stars with His fingers (see Psalm 8:3) has His tiny hand wrapped around His mother’s finger. The Almighty became an infant. The God wrapped in splendor needs to be wrapped in swaddling cloths. It’s unfathomable.

Yet, this very same God wants us to observe, gaze, and wonder so we are spiritually transformed by his taking on of human flesh. We are called to notice the divine humility so that we might humble ourselves (see Phil. 2:5-8). Thus, His humbling of Himself makes it possible for Him to exalt us! No wonder He called us to become like little children and follow Him.

Advent must be a time of meditating on the wonder of Al- mighty God becoming a nursing baby. But it should also include times of inward reflection that leads to repentance. Where have we sought to exalt ourselves? With which other gods have we become enamored? When do we find ourselves more concerned with how others see us than with how God sees us? Why do we resist kneeling before the manger where our Savior broke into the world He created?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to see You clearly 
as the God who made all things
and the one for whom all things were made (see Col. 1:16).
Open my eyes to see You also as the infant
child who came to conquer death. Soften
my heart to drive me to my knees.
May I grow in wonder and awe
during these days of anticipation.
May my celebration of Your coming
to earth prepare me for heaven.