MONDAY MEDITATION: “Have You Met My Son?” (December 14)

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people…This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:10, 12

My father, in his latter years, was slowed by dementia. Luckily he still retained his personality and still recognized us and could carry on conversations. His short-term memory, though, was non-existent.

One thing remained constant, however. Each time I’d visit him in the assisted living facility, he’d make a point of introducing me to a staff person. “Have you met my son, Greg?” He would introduce me two or three times more to the same staffer over the course of an afternoon, but each time he did so with the same words and the same intense pride.

Whenever I read the angels telling the shepherds about Jesus’ birth, I remember this scene of multiple introductions. It’s as if God just can’t contain a parent’s overwhelming joy. “He’s born! You just have to meet him! Here are the directions!”

Later, the Creator of this vast, 13.8-billion-year-old cosmos, bubbles up with pride again. When the son obediently goes into the waters of baptism, a parental voice booms out, “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”” (Luke 3:22). And again, concluding the Transfiguration experience, Dad just can’t hold back: “This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5).

As a dad, I know what my father felt. I “dearly love” and “find happiness in” my two children. I just think everyone would benefit from getting to know them.

Maybe that’s why God is so intense, too.

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” Jesus said. (John 14:9)