So what do you do when the glory of Lord shines around you?
Most people run for their lives.
Any kind of divine encounter results in an attempt to make space, to get some distance.
There is that wonderful story of when Peter was fishing and Jesus told him to cast their nets and the nets were then filled with fish to the point of being almost torn apart, it was too much to hold, too much to carry, too much to bear. Peter’s immediate reaction is to yell at Jesus to go away, get away for, “I am a sinner.”
Like the nets Peter felt like he was going to be torn apart, it was too much, too much to hold, too much to carry, too much to bear, the fullness was too much.
It causes a sort of collision, a loud percussive crash, the divine presence abrades our rough spots, we suddenly see things in a different light, ourselves in a true light, we see our distance from all that we were created to be, the beauty hurts.
But the divine presence never listens to our demands to go away, it abides, always drawing closer, telling us to fear not, be not afraid, the fullness of God will fill but not destroy, the nets will not be torn, only stretched.
Mary carried that fullness. Mary was stretched by that fullness.
Mary gave birth to that fullness.
It fills the multitude of the heavenly host with song.
It filled the shepherds with praise and glory.
Where do we encounter the fullness of God today?
What do we run from?
What stretches us?
Flannery O’Connor wrote of the presence of Jesus haunting those who tried to avoid him. The more they deny him the more they found him lurking behind every tree, always trying to find him in order to deny, the irony of divine denial.
She said that this basically defined the American South: obsessed with Jesus, either by denying or worshiping, obsessed and haunted by the presence.
The divine presence, that shines, that shows us more than we want to see, that one day will fill us with song, stretch us with glory and displace our fears with praise.
Where do we encounter the fullness of God today?
The sacraments?
The poor?
The life of being in community, of being Church?
The better question is where do we not encounter the fullness of God?
Is there any escape?
In all the craziness Christmas, in all the generations of accumulated children’s animated Christmas specials, the reindeer, the Burgermeister Meisterburger, Heat Miser and Frosty, in all the mixed up stories, the frenzy of torn wrapping paper, the disappointments, the searching.
In all the outrageous, silly and wonderful ways we fill this season, the presence and fullness of God abides and invites us to encounter the one who is holy, and other, whose mercy is staggering, whose love is humble.
We are created to carry the divine presence that fills, that stretches but does not destroy.
This night we celebrate the birth of the one who frees us from the tyranny and emptiness of sin, who is the fullness of God, whose fullness fills us with song, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”