open curtains, begin scene

(for the beginning of 2025)

infant holy, infant lowly,

king of kings and lord of lords

you have come to us with nothing,

as the poorest of the poor

so we come to you in wonder,

see you helpless as you slumber

as we lay our gifts before

Christ the savior, weak and poor

-infant holy, infant lowly- the porters gate

advent/waiting/pregnancy

christ incarnate, god clothed in flesh, humble and vulnerable. i think the most beautiful part of the gospel.

gold leaf and royal blue frescoes, glory divinity and beauty bleeding into the mundane. an angel speaking to a poor woman. god likes to shock.

you see all the groans of my spirit and the groans of my flesh, you are in the light and the shadows, you bring light, piercing and gentle

peeling an orange

lend me your knife

it is too dull

blood seeps in the pith

and i eat it

blood to blood

dust to dust

to incarnate is to risk- this thing is now enfleshed, vulnerable, able to be hurt.

The act of creation is that of incarnation, of bringing something into tangible being. It can now be touched. We can be touched. Christ can be touched, feel his wounds in his side, in his hands, flesh even as he defeated death. This body can do beautiful things.

---

paper garlands streaming from ceilings and windows

oranges

grapefruits hung like stained glass

everything

warmth, cold, feelings, grief, joy, community, loneliness

all wrapped up with a bow

home/belonging

in kitchens? in candles?

and it all tumbles over into another year