Colossians 1:16-17

"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16-17

When Jesus was born two thousands years ago, the world was well underway. He was born into the middle of history. Tectonic plates had shifted, animals had gone extinct, nations had risen and fallen. But somehow, this helpless, vulnerable baby had created it all, from the stones that built Jerusalem to the manger in which he slept to the mother who gave him milk. And in this same baby, who cried and nursed and pooped and slept, all things were held together. I can hardly begin to make sense of that. And Paul isn't really trying to offer a theory for how it works. He's just telling us how it is. This man born as a baby in the middle of time, who eventually died a shameful death, created it all and continues to hold it all together.

In 1942, the English composer Benjamin Britten set a traditional English carol from the fifteenth century to music. The old words speak of Jesus' mother Mary as a rose:

"There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu....
For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space."

Just think of that: A pregnant Mary, who carried in her womb a baby not even viable outside of his mother, but who carried the heavens and the earth within him.

One of my favorite sins is self-pity. When things get even a little bit rough, I feel like I am carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. I'm not, of course. I'm just carrying a little bit. And frankly, you'd probably find my life pretty easy if we were to sit down and compare stories. But nevertheless, I can feel like the guy on the bench press who has put TOO MUCH WEIGHT on that bar. And I forget to get a spotter! And I don't think I can lift it! And the bar is about to come crashing down on my chest!

Oh, what comfort and, frankly, what a kick in the butt, as I consider that Jesus holds all things together, competently, effortlessly, gracefully, constantly. And what a comfort that the one who has that kind of power also condescends to become one of his creatures, and in its most vulnerable form. The one who holds it all together is humble enough to allow sinful human beings to hold him, soothe him, swaddle him, burp him. Praise to our God for his awesome majesty! Praise to our God for his approachable humility!