Life gets in the way. So do holidays and deadlines not honored. So I come once again to a few thoughts on sermons delivered and not delivered since Christmas Eve.

The Christmas story is not all joy and singing and gifts. To me this year it was about dealing with trauma. The story itself exudes trauma, homelessness, darkness, fear, and because it does we can find ourselves in it as we deal with our own trauma of living in a world filled with it. I take comfort that scripture can address such difficult issues.

I learned something as well from the prophet Jeremiah who faced a Jerusalem under siege. A prophet much maligned for speaking the truth when others found it easier not to, Jeremiah actually offered a word of hope and promise but it would not come until after there was exile and displacement. Put another way, exile is a precondition to hope and promise. Hope is costly and requires struggle. And it’s always the result of a journey.

Much to ponder still, as such pondering seems to be a persistent requirement for the stories of God.