"How far have I sunk?", Joseph asked as he found himself cleaning garbage cans. Joseph was a happy man, rich and well-educated in his native country. However, because of a turn of events, Joseph had to leave his country with his family. Joseph became a refugee. He lost all his material possessions and found himself dependent on the charity of others. Now Joseph found himself in a new land, where he is a stranger and his previous life did not matter. He found himself doing work he never dreamed of. Some of you could resonate with Joseph's feeling of being trapped in a life you never dreamed of. Maybe the economic turn of events left you without a home and without a job you are proud of. Maybe your health has deteriorated and you feel that you have become a burden, unable to care for yourself. Maybe you just struggle with a general feeling of unworthiness, that who you are and what you do does not matter.

     The Lord of the universe felt what it was like to be insignificant. He knows what it was like to walk in your shoes, and this same Lord is watching over you. This same Lord is asking you to walk with him, and in walking with him, you will find "heaven". Remember that this Christmas, we are not celebrating the birth of a mere man or a deity coming to earth to do something spectacular like becoming a king who goes to war against evil. The closest stories we have are of lesser gods becoming incarnated, defeating an evil king and/or telling their disciples how to find "heaven". We are talking about the Lord of the universe, the one who brought the world into existence and is behind history, coming to earth as a helpless baby. According to the Christian story, the creator was conceived and was a fetus in his mother's womb, receiving his sustenance from her. He was born, once in history, in a manger, a place where animals feed. He was dependent on his parents for everything; food, clothes, love, cleanliness. His parents had to teach him how to function in his world, to work and to treat others. 

     It is a mystery how the creator of the universe, the eternal word, could empty himself of who he is. It will take volumes to talk about that mystery. The God of all gods, the one who sustains the universe, became insignificant. If you are struggling with a sense of significance- "Do I matter?", "Does what I do matter", think about the baby in the manger. A baby is the epitome of helplessness, vulnerable to the whims of his parents, and to the forces of nature and history. Those who saw this baby saw a helpless human being. However, the Christian story continues with this baby becoming the man who will save humanity. He will not do it by weapons or by political power. He will save humanity by a great display of humility, giving his life in the place of sinful humanity, in the place of you and I who have not wholeheartedly loved God and others. God's standard of love could not be broken, sinfulness leads to eternal separation from God and from life itself. By a seemingly insignificant act, this man would die in our place so that we could be in the presence of God and life itself. God's power was shown in the insignificant. Praise be to God!