You’ve probably heard it more than a few times: “2020 just won’t let up!” “2020 has been really rough.” “Can we just get past this year?” Well, we’re just about there, but (unless something has taken a big shift since I wrote this) I don’t think that any one of us expects the new year to magically make any of these struggles fade into the past. Let me be clear: This was a very difficult year. We lost friends to illness, accident, and division. We separated out of safety and we separated out of strife. We isolated physically and emotionally. It’s been really hard. It might continue to be really hard.

I don’t write this to be the downer in the room. I write it because we need to be aware of our narratives. If we place all of our hope in “getting through 2020,” what will we do when we stub our proverbial toes in 2021? We need to be aware of how our words and conversations change our expectations, and we can’t place our hope in a page on the calendar.

I’m tempted to say something like, “Instead, place your hope in a child in a manger.” You’d understand why I would write something like that. There’s deep truth in it, and the season certainly warrants it. But I’m not going to write that. Instead I’m choosing to write this:

Place your hope in the incarnation of God on Earth today. Now, to all of you theologians out there, yes, God took on human form in the child of Jesus and came to show us perfected love and life. It’s all true, but where do we see God’s love incarnated on Earth today? We see it in one another. God’s fingerprints are all over us (check out Psalm 139) and we are called to be his body on earth (1Corinthians 12). We are incarnational when we accept the mantle that the Holy Spirit has breathed into us – we are Jesus’ hands and feet on Earth. We can see Christ’s love in one another, and we can be Christ’s love for one another.

Mr. Rogers had it right when he said, “Look for the helpers.” The world can be a scary place for lots of different reasons, but Jesus shows up. He shows up when we share from our abundance and even more so when we share from our scarcity. He shows up in a phone call to the lonely. He shows up in driveways and through windows and over video chats and in letters and packages. He shows up when we do the hard thing so someone else won’t have to suffer. Jesus shows up in you and me.

Yes. I believe it. I believe it in my core that God came to Earth as a child so that we could experience relationship with God. What a ridiculous concept. The story has never changed; we are called to follow Jesus’ example. We are called to be the incarnate vision of love on Earth. So, this season, don’t put your hopes in a new year. And once you’ve looked back to the child in the manger, don’t forget to look around for Christ on Earth today. He’s here. If you don’t see him out there, maybe it’s your turn to show up.

Where have you seen Jesus around you these days? I’d love to hear your story. Merry Christmas, friends.

Be well.

Ed Sutter