A Messy Mass and a Wandering Baby and the Incarnation.

It's been a dull week on the Advent Blog. But it's okay. We will pick up and keep walking. :)

Because I can only think in stories, I would like to share a story. It's really funny how many significant  things I have learned through the Mass and through babies. This story involves both. :)

This Sunday, I attended what was easily one of the messiest Masses I had ever seen. The Mass started late, the candle-bearers went forward without the priest, who came after the choir sang the same song for 10 minutes, the ladies beside me wouldn't stop talking and the priest forgot about the Children's Liturgy! I, to say the least, was not impressed.

Then I hear this thumping sound. Boom boom boom. And I thought there was construction going on outside the Church- a few minutes later I realised that it was actually a baby stomping around the altar, which, it seems, was very hollow! Eventually the thumping stopped. I looked up to see her stopped in her tracks, staring (prayerfully?) at the large crucifix fixed to the Church wall. She stood like that for a good while before thumping her way back to her mother. She ran on and off the altar a few times like this.

My favourite moment of hers though, was after Communion. While the priest was cleaning the vessels, she decided that this was an opportune moment to go to the front of altar and lie on her belly. Prostrate in front of the altar. And she laid like that for a good while. Though for the most part through this Mass, I had been very critical of her behaviour (and her parents)- this time I had to chuckle. It was so perfect. Maybe she was doing what none of us dared to in our worship of the Lord.

And then I thought about Jesus would feel about this mess we had just offered. And I asked Him. And I believe that He led me to understand that, though this was a messy Mass- The Lord was present. And He came and He loved.

This messy Mass helped me understand that this is what God does for us. He chooses to enter our mess. He chooses to. The mess we've made of creation, the mess we made of our lives, the mess we made of our relationship with Him. Isn't this what the Incarnation is all about? The Lord enters the world in a dirty, smelly manger. He walks among the scum of society.  He dwells in my barren heart. And He keeps doing it without fail.

This is our Lord. This is what it means that God would become man. Perfection chooses to be unclean.

In my wildest imagination I could not make up or understand this story of love. I am so grateful- for messy Masses, for courageous babies, and for a Lord who always comes and always is and always loves.