For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9

AT THE MARGINS
The artist, William Kurelek, describes the scene: “The sky is starless, and snow threatens again. In the dark river below a boom of logs floats. Across the river a light shines in the tower of the capital, announcing to the country that its representatives are inside deliberating” (Kurelek, 1976, 9). Ottawa’s Parliament Buildings represent the focal point of power and self-importance; yet, this is not what captures our attention. Instead, we are invited to ponder a curious scene unfolding in the wintery woods below. On the edges of the capital, oblivious to the rich and powerful on “the hill,” Mary is kneeling in the snow beside a sleeping homeless person. Astonishingly, she is holding the baby Jesus just close enough for him to reach out and gently touch the person’s forehead. Emmanuel, the Son of God, identifies with the poverty and frailty of our humanity. And He appears in unexpected places, in unexpected ways.

The accompanying chorus echoes a refrain:

O, poor little Jesus,
This world gonna break your heart.
There'll be no place to lay your head, my lord.

That Christ relinquished His glory, all that was His “due," is at the heart of the Christmas message: “that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor” (2 Cor. 8:9). Arriving as a defenseless human baby in a stable, on the edges of society - homeless and away from the grandeur and acclaim He deserved as the King of Kings - confronts all our notions of “entitlement” (Phil. 2:6-8).

Indeed, Jesus conducted much of His work and ministry at the margins (in Galilee and Samaria, rather than Jerusalem) and outside of the prevailing power structures, “on the road, by the sea, in the fields, on the mountain, by the well” (Eckblad, 2005, p. xv). At the margins, we often find those who are overlooked, hidden, forgotten by mainstream society and far from places of prominence. Yet, Jesus is here – empowering the weak, rescuing the oppressed, befriending the “stranger,” healing the diseased, and redeeming the sinner: “so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

While our 21^st century globalized world boasts of unprecedented progress and unimaginable wealth in some corners, Emmanuel reaches out to those in the shadows of wealth and privilege, outside the realm of the expected. He identifies with those most “unlikely” to succeed – but through His grace, He provides a way that they, and that we, might experience life more abundantly (John 10:10). O come, O come Emmanuel – God with us – and our eternal home (Matt. 1:23, cf. Rev. 21:3).
Rhonda McEwen, Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies

References
Eckblad, B. (2005). Reading the Bible with the damned. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Kurelek, W. (1976). A Northern Nativity: Christmas Dreams of a Prairie Boy. Plattsburgh, NY: Tundra Books. 

Watch, O LORD, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give Your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend Your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest Your weary ones. Bless Your dying ones. Soothe Your suffering ones. Pity Your afflicted ones. Shield Your joyous ones. And all for Your love's sake. Amen
Augustine of Hippo