Is 9:1-6 | Ps 96 | Ti 2:11-14 | Lk 2:1-14
Earth received her King over two-thousand years ago, but there is still so much emptiness and pain in our world. He himself told us that we would always have the poor with us, that there would be wars, and persecution throughout history. He was born into this beautiful world with all its suffering so that he could be with us through it all. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher, and teacher once claimed that God entered his world like an artist entering his studio—which is to say, with utter confidence and familiarity. This broken world is indeed the artist’s studio, but it’s filled with trashed, broken, and half-finished pieces. Paintings of the Nativity often depict a worn-out and demolished landscape with structures in ruin, illustrating the state in which our Savior arrived.
Five-hundred twenty-four years ago, in 1499, Michelangelo’s Pietà, was unveiled on Christmas Day. The contract, which still exists today, among several details worked out between the artist and the patron, states: “It is to be a sculpture of the Madonna with the Body of her Son after the deposition from the Cross … and, it is to be the most beautiful work of art in all of Rome!”
It took Michelangelo a year to sculpt, and prior to that, a year to select the block of marble he felt was suitable for the piece. The stone came from the quarries of Tuscany, which still exist today. It’s reported that he always went in the morning to inspect these massive extractions from the earth, as the early morning sunlight gave away a marble’s imperfections.
When unveiled by the twenty-six-year-old, it was met with instant acclaim, with people asking him, “How did you possibly do this?” Without much hesitation, his response was: “Don’t you know, the image was always contained within the stone. It was simply my job to remove the excess.”
Like an artist, God is hard at work molding and shaping us. He isn’t some distant, impersonal force watching over the world from afar. No, God is involved in our lives, getting God’s hands dirty, showing us the way we should go, and smoothing out the road ahead of us. He will extract our excess, to reveal the beauty within us—but, we have to let Him, and this takes time.
He knows how small our hearts are. That’s why he came first as a baby. And, like a baby, he doesn’t need much room. If we can open our hearts just a little for him, he will be happy to come in. He knows how weak and sinful we are. He knows how cluttered our minds and hearts are. That’s why he chose to be born in a stable. He is all too ready to enter the humblest of places, even places that are filthy. Such are our hearts. Still, he is glad when we open ourselves up to him, no matter what condition we may find ourselves in.
So, if we aren’t where we think we should be in our lives and in our relationship with God and others, then we need to be patient and we need to cooperate. God isn’t done with us yet. He is making something of us that is even more beautiful than we could ever imagine. But this takes time and sometimes even a little pain. But our Heavenly Father will not fail us. Trust in His love for you and the brilliance of His work in you—whether you find yourself still a cold slab of white, Carrara marble, a half-finished piece, or a near-polished work.
As this year draws to a close and we are faced with a new year ahead, permit yourself to be chiseled away at. Invite the One who willed you into existence to remove the excess. Permit him to polish his creature to shine with perfection—he who delights in you, his masterpiece, his work of art—he who knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb.