He came in a manger

Last night was my first experience at midnight mass. I enjoyed it. Although admittedly the Christmas candlelight service is still my favorite by far. I missed that this year. In the homily the priest pointed out that Christ came in a manger, to one of the messiest places on earth instead of to a throne. He came to a barn with smelly animals and to a bed made of hay. I don't often think of how awful it must have smelled in the barn. Normally we talk about how Jesus was born here because He was born humbly. Which is also true. But the priest made an important new point. We often are afraid of how messy our lives are and are afraid to ask Jesus to be involved unless we have everything all together. We are never going to have everything all together for one. And Jesus made a point by coming in a manger. He wants to be a part of our mess. He wants to help us right where we are at. Bad smells and all.