I Want to Look, But I Can't Stand to See Anymore

"Stand up and raise your heads.." (Luke 21:28b).
Quite frankly, I'm tired of raising my head.
Yesterday as we drove down the Lower 9th Ward, seeing all the destruction--houses splintered, demolished, on their sides.....I do not want to see anymore.
So sitting in the van, I lower my head.
In Luke 21:25ff, the sun, moon, stars, and all the nations of the world are confused over the crashing of the waves, and faint from fear and foreboading for the heavens are shaken.
THEN we see the Son of Man. THEN we see Christ's power and glory.
In the very depth and center of our crucibles of despair, anger, frustration, fear and hopelessness; when our world roars arounds us; Christ, Emmanuel, God with us, comes to be with us amidst the muck, dampness and mold of our lives.
"Stand up and raise your heads."
I can stand up because Christ set aside......his life.
With Advent, we anticipate Christ coming to us in the humbleness of a musty, old, moldy manger. Christ forewent the ellegance of an executive room in the inn.
Yet we've all heard the saying, "Christ was born to die."
To die upon a splintered, blood-stained, moldy cross.
"O sacred head now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down....Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call thee mine."
I want to look, but I can't stand to see anymore.
Yet with God's promise, Emmanuel, God with us, we are given New Life.
We are able to stand and look through death, even though we don't want to see any more.
We can see through the darkness into the Light.
Through the mold, into purification
Through death into New Life.
Strengthened by Christ, we can stand and lift our heads, to see a crucified Christ.
A crucified Christ who is also the Resurrected Christ. New life from death.
Jesus was born to live.
Let us stand, and raise our heads, focused toward the hope of the Good News. Let us stand and proclaim this Good News one brick at a time, one home at a time, one heart at a time.

Adam F.