Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christ in our midst

"What a simplification of life it would be if we forced ourselves to see that everywhere we go is Christ, wearing out socks we have to darn, eating food we have to cook, laughing with us, silent with us, sleeping with us."
Dorothy Day, adapted from an article that appeared in the "The Catholic Worker," December 1945; reproduced in "The Word Among Us"

This was stunning to me this morning. Many of you, like me, had friends or family staying with you over the holidays...did you ever once think of them as Jesus? When I think of extending a helping hand to Jesus, I usually think in terms of the poor, or people less fortunate--I don't often think of my own family in those terms, though. When I think of the dishes I have done, the laundry I have folded, the groceries I have purchased over the last week or so, I don't think of it as serving Jesus, necessarily. But, Dorothy Day is clear in this article...everyone we encounter, no matter who they are, no matter what circumstances they are in, they are, indeed, the face of Christ in our world. The Incarnation did not just happen two thousand years ago. It happened yesterday and will happen again today. Christ is in our world right here, right now. Christ is wearing out socks we must darn (although I'd be more inclined to just buy Jesus new socks!) and eating food we must cook...and dirtying dishes we will end up washing. Wow, Friends! Love, heidi

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