The Christmas story might make you think about rocks.

There were rocks in the Judean countryside where the angels appeared that night, scaring a bunch of shepherds almost out of their wits.

There was nothing soft about the birth of Jesus, from the manger that was his first cradle to the bone-rattling trip to Egypt to escape the madness that obsessed Herod. Donkeys are not equipped with shocks.

His first few months were hard, like rocks. Yet the Divine is often found among the rocks.

God’s only son made his earthly debut in a feeding trough, baptized with the sweat and sweet saliva of innocent animals. Even as the innkeeper rejected the expectant couple, God was poised and ready to embrace all mankind with a love stronger than death.

Jesus joined the carnival of life to show us what God is like. He was God and man — a mystery if there ever was one.

The Bible says the Word became flesh. Jesus did not wear his humanity like a coat; he became humanity, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.

Jesus became one of us — a real human being in whom we see knees that got skinned, eyes that wept at the death of a friend, hands that felt the white hot horror of being nailed to a tree, and legs that walked many weary miles and were often denied the comfort of a soft bed.

Jesus talked about God’s grace, love, and forgiveness, and we listen because he speaks our language — he’s been there. Like many of us, he lived a large part of his life between a rock and a hard place. The Sacred is often found among the rocks and briars because that’s usually where we sinners are.

Jesus did not transcend sin and suffering, he became sin and suffering for our sake.

When God sent Jesus to that stable in Bethlehem, he sent us his heart — his only son. Through Jesus, we are touched by one of our own, but one in whom the very soul of God dwells. He is the rock of our salvation — our bridge to God and eternity, a bridge that was built with his blood at Calvary.

This love demands a response — one way or the other.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16 Merry Christmas!