And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9
Last Christmas, we were honored with the privilege of Atton portraying Jesus in the Family Service at CUMC. When Marty asked us, we were overjoyed. What she doesn’t know (and is likely reading for the first time), her request brought me to tears.
We knew early on in my pregnancy that Atton would be born with a cleft lip and palate. We had time to grieve, research, prepare, and find joy again. Marty asked us to have Atton play Jesus fairly early on in this grieving process, and long before she saw Atton’s darling face. She didn’t even mention the cleft and was one of my first experiences with anyone treating my son as a “traditional” baby. We are truly grateful.
Of course, as an expecting parent, I was worried about how appearances might affect how people treated Atton. We have been amazingly blessed that our interactions with people have been overwhelmingly positive and people have spoken only the kindest words to our son.
Marty did another powerful thing by asking us to have Atton portray Jesus. She introduced “imperfection” to the cradle, and welcomed us all (well, at least me) right there with it. We know Jesus as absolutely perfect, divine. Sometimes, this perfection is hard to grasp, and even harder to feel connected to. I don’t mean to demean my reverence to the divine here. I’m simply talking about relatability.
Sure, we strive to think about what would Jesus do, and try our best in our daily interactions to act in a Christian manner, but it’s awfully easy to admit that we’re not God and we do fall short, and we don’t always have the best path. Parables can be confusing. Jesus must have come off to people of his day as self-centered before they really knew who he was.
Atton’s cleft brought some humanness to the divine, even more than any other roly-poly baby has for me. It allowed me to have a greater connection with God in his human form, perhaps with some human flaws and all.
As we approach Christmas Eve once more, I wanted to share this story, get you thinking, and perhaps remind you of the human in the divine.
Emalee Sugano
Lord, May we find you amongst our daily lives, blessings, people, and flaws. May we embrace your humanness amongst your divine, as we welcome you in the cradle once more.