It was only a week before Christmas when I and the other members of “Perfect Praise” choir from Amazing Grace travelled to Hopkins hospital to visit and sing with the young women who are in the CAP program.  CAP stands for the Center for Addiction and Pregnancy, a place to support and help women and their babies who are in recovery for drug addictions.  They are largely young women on the edge.   Many don’t have family support.  But they are here, moving toward healing. 

We sing about our longing for God to come anew into our lives and world.  We sing about anticipating the arrival of something new, about God doing new things.  Several of the young women are pregnant.  One gently rocks her small new born child.

One of the rich gifts I’ve received at Amazing Grace is that abundant life comes from receiving from others…or really, receiving together from God and each other.  Sometimes the temptation in the church is to suggest that we have this something that people need, and were going to go give it to them, share it with them, let them  have what we have.  Like we’re going to go sing to those CAP women because we can help them.  And don’t get me wrong, we do want to help, support, and love them.  BUT, what I’ve discovered is that honestly, walking with Jesus isn’t about them…its about us.  In fact, its about us together, and no them.  As we gather.  As we sing.  As we pray and talk and laugh at a cooing baby, Jesus shows up.  Right there with us.  Bringing forgiveness, and grace and compassion.

 My heart is drawn to the uncertainty Mary must have felt as a young pregnant woman in the Middle East.  And when one woman comes in and ask to pray with us as we are winding down, I can’t help but wonder if  Mary too would have wanted others to lift her up.  Soon, a baby would be born that would change her life… that would change all our lives…that has changed everything!

It is the 12th day of Christmas.  Epiphany season begins tommorrow.  The season when the wise ones arrived  to worship the Christ child.  The season when the light and love of Christ shines to all places and people…even us, especially us, all of us.