God With Us, Still

A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” — John 1:14

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United Church of Gainesville in Gainesville, Florida. https://www.ucc.org/opinion-why-a-florida-church-created-a-creche-with-no-jesus/

We have learned how to make Christmas safe. We soften it with nostalgia and familiarity. We repeat the story in ways that reassure us rather than unsettle us. But the story itself resists that impulse. It refuses to be reduced to comfort.

The birth of Jesus takes place inside a system of imperial control. A census ordered by King Herod forces people to move for the sake of power and taxation. Mary’s pregnancy places her at social and physical risk. Joseph must navigate a world that offers no protection for what he has been asked to carry. The incarnation unfolds within political coercion, economic precarity, and fear. None of this is incidental. It is the context God chooses.

This matters for how we understand what Christians mean by incarnation.

God does not enter the world as an answer imposed from above. God enters as a life exposed to the conditions of history. Jesus is born into vulnerability, dependence, and danger. He will require care, protection, and community to survive. He will grow up under occupation and surveillance. Christmas makes a theological claim that divine presence does not bypass human conditions but inhabits them fully.

The angel’s message does not resolve the risks Mary faces. It names what is being asked of her. The shepherds are not granted authority or power; they are invited to see what power has overlooked. Mary’s consent does not shield her from consequence. It binds her to a future shaped by uncertainty. The story does not remove threat. It gives meaning that must be carried through it.

This is where Christmas confronts us.

We are living in a time when cruelty is normalized our national leadership and our attention is fragmented by our media. We are encouraged to move quickly past harm, to accept injustice as inevitable, and to protect ourselves by becoming numb. Christmas interrupts that logic. It insists that presence matters. It claims that proximity to suffering is not failure but fidelity. It asserts that love enacted in the flesh has consequences for how the world can still be shaped.

The name Immanuel—God with us—is not just a comforting reassurance. It is a theological assertion about where God chooses to stand. God aligns with the displaced, the surveilled, the deported and the exposed. God identifies with those whose lives are shaped by decisions they did not make and cannot escape. The incarnation locates God not above history, but within it.

This is not an easy claim to live with. It offers no escape from the world as it is. It demands responsibility rather than relief.

And still, it is good news.

If God enters the world this way, then no life is disposable. No place is beyond concern. No suffering is invisible to the divine. Christmas does not deny the evils of this world. It tells the truth about it and refuses to abandon us in the midst.

Today, Christians do not gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus because the world is healed. We gather because love has chosen to remain present within it. We light candles because sustained attention is an ethical act. We keep watch because transformation begins when people refuse to look away.

This is how God comes into the world.

This is how love endures.

This is what Christmas asks of us.

We are in this together,

Cameron

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Reflection Questions

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1. Where do you notice the temptation to make Christmas comforting rather than truthful?

2. What does it mean for you to imagine God choosing vulnerability rather than control?

3. Where in your own life are you being asked not for certainty, but for presence?

4. How might Christmas call you to stay attentive to suffering rather than turning away from it?

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A Prayer for the Day

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A Prayer For Staying With the World

God who chose flesh,
God who entered history without armor,
Meet us where we are tempted to look away.

We confess our longing for easy hope,
for reassurance without responsibility,
for peace without proximity.

Teach us how to stay present.
Teach us how to hold fragility without fleeing it.
Teach us how to love in ways that take shape in real lives and real places.

On this holy night,
give us the courage to receive you as you come—
not above us,
not beyond us,
but with us.

Amen.

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Spiritual Practice

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Staying Present

At some point today or tonight, when you are gathered with others, choose one moment to practice deliberate presence.

Before a meal, a conversation, or a familiar ritual, pause quietly and notice who is with you. Notice their bodies, their voices, their histories. Remember that every person around you carries joy and grief, longing and fear, often unseen.

Resist the urge to perform, fix, correct, or escape.

Simply stay.

Let this be your Christmas practice:

not saying the perfect thing,

not smoothing over what is hard,

but remaining present to the people God has placed before you.

This is incarnation in real time.

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Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…

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January 6, 13, 20, 2026 - Protest and Action Chaplaincy Training with Rev. Anna Golladay. This live, online training offers a framework for providing compassionate, grounded spiritual care during protests, advocacy gatherings, and social movements. Learn more here.

January 15, 2026, 7-8pm EST - FREE Online Webinar: When the Internet Hurts: The Hidden Online Dangers Facing Our Teens and How Faith Communities Can Respond, Join me in conversation with Sharon Winkler, survivor parent and nationally respected youth online-safety advocate. Sharon’s son, Alex, died at age 17 after experiencing cyberbullying and algorithmically targeted pro-suicide content. Since then, Sharon has dedicated her life to helping parents, educators, and faith leaders recognize online dangers and build safer communities for young people. Register here.

February 11th and 25, 2026 - Join Our “Building a Culture of Leadership Within Congregations” Cohort facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and me! A two-session course for ministers and faith leaders ready to strengthen how their congregations and ministries identify, develop, and support leaders. Learn more here.

July 19-24, 2026 - Join me and amazing co-facilitator, Victoria, on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.

I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.

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Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…

I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.

My friend and Buddhist teacher, Isa Gucciardi’s center, the Foundation of the Sacred Stream, has just released their 2026 calendar of events. I can’t recommend her courses enough. Check them out here.

Have you heard that Dr. Matthew Fox is taking a group to Italy?!? It’s a week-long retreat in Sardinia on May 25-30, 2026 focused on the theme of Awakening the Divine Human, rooted in the teachings of Matthew, C.G. Jung, and the ancient wisdom of the land. I so wish I could go, but I am already booked. You should consider it.

I just finished listening to Rachel Maddow’s new podcast called “Burn Order.” I realize I can’t exactly claim Rachel as a “friend” since we have never even met, but I still want to recommend the podcast to you. It’s pretty incredible.

Have you heard about the Buddhist monks walking for Peace? The Monks and their dog, Aloka, are walking from Texas to Washington, D.C. to promote peace and compassion. You can follow their progress in real time here.

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If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.