Like most babies, Jesus came into the world on his own terms and in his own time.  He didn’t wait until the house was clean, the couple married, or the family back in Nazareth.  He was born into a world that knew both kindness and brutality. Jesus wasn’t born into a perfect family. Jesus wasn’t born in the temple or the palace. Jesus was born in a stable. Jesus came when there was no room at the inn. Jesus came when the shepherds were at work—on the night shift, no less.

Jesus comes when the power is out, the house is a mess, trees are down, relationships are frayed, or the drinking out of control. Jesus comes when the path ahead is a sheet of ice with no melting in sight.

Today we celebrate the incarnation: Jesus coming to earth and living with us—in Waldoboro, Friendship, Damariscotta, Thomaston, Jefferson, Warren, Hope.

Jesus was born and ministered in unlikely places. He reached out to the outcast woman at the well, the corrupt tax collector, and the criminal on the cross. And all three went on to share Christ’s love with others.

I hope each of us meets Jesus here tonight. I hope that each of us is touched by Christ’s love and healing and hope. But if that doesn’t happen, if you don’t see Jesus here tonight, keep looking. Head out with the shepherds and magi and look up for a star or an angel or a family in trouble. For Jesus is not just in this sacred place—but in the prisons, the grocery store, the 12 step meetings, the hospitals, living rooms, highway rest stops, the CMP trucks, and homeless shelters. Jesus is struggling to be born in us—in the hard labor of our daily lives.

Emanuel—God with us.

God is with us. God’s love is with us. No exceptions. All the time. Amen.