First Coming

by Madeleine L’Engle

He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait

till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!

Indeed, if we waited until everything was good and right in the world before we rejoiced, we would never have the chance. God didn't humble Himself and come down to earth for His own good. He doesn't need us for any of His plans to come through. And yet...He came for us. In our time of need, to feel our pain, and be like us. No, lower than us. He did not live in a palace. He did not eat gourmet meals. He did not seek out the kings and rulers to dine with. He hung out with the lowly, the unwanted, the sinners. And we should rejoice of His coming always!

I am a longtime admirer of Madeleine L'Engle. Her writings are chock full of beautiful imagery alongside stark truth. Her poetry is less well-known. It's her fictional books of the A Wrinkle in Time series that she is probably most widely known for. Those are excellent books, by the way. I have the propensity to read them all again because it's been a long time since I read them. In high school and college I read all the Madeleine L'Engle I could get my hands on: poetry, non-fiction from her journals, adult fiction, children's fiction. I even wrote my High School Senior English paper about her.

She had a way of writing about the world (or her fictional worlds) with the ability to see the good, even through the pain and suffering. Her quiet strength is full of wisdom and experience. Reading her poems back in those days kind of got me to really appreciate reading a poem slowly and deciphering the lines. The poems and her non-fiction challenged me to write more and to write with more depth in my thoughts.