Advent Reflection 2 God in the minutiae

One of the things I emphasize in my teaching Catholic/Christian faith is that God becoming human is an affirmation of human-ness.  Our humanness is deeply affirmed when God takes on body.  We are affirmed In our living, smelling, laughing, crying, pooping, smelling, sweating, smiling, touching because God- in Jesus- did these things too.   Nothing is too mundane for God.

Tonight the washer is clogged again.

It probably won't be until Saturday that Sean and I have time to fix it.

There is a person in my life who is really really stressing me out.

I don't know how it is going to get resolved.

Miriam is still not sleeping well and we can't decide to sleep train her to see if she will just sleep eventually.

Maggie (our beloved dog) was seriously injured in an accident about two weeks ago.

She had surgery yesterday and is doing well, but is down in the dumps.

These are the minutiae of our lives.

This is the stuff that doesn't feel sweet or precious or anything.

It just feels like living life.

So in my theology I believe that God is in the fixing of appliances.

God is in the tension we have and the resolutions we seek.

God is in the decisions we make as parents even if we make crappy ones.

God is in our sadness for our dog and our desire to be better doggy parents.

It is so much easier to feel God in other places.

It is even so much easier to imagine God in other places.

The theology of God and appliances is just less interesting and less meaningful.

So Advent is moving toward that -bit by bit.

Perhaps in a growing gratitude of gift and privilege.
Or maybe without a summary conclusion.

Just letting it be.