Years and years of waiting prepared God’s People for something spectacular. The Promised Messiah would be someone big. He would be a prophet. A priest. A king. You would know when He had arrived. But in classic Divine irony, the Messiah arrives in a rather obscure and unassuming manner. No pomp. No fanfare. God becomes present in a humble chamber surrounded by the humblest of characters. A carpenter, His young mother, some shepherds, and livestock.

How many persons missed Christ because they were looking for someone big and important? How many persons walked by Joseph, Mary, and Jesus and never once dreamed who this little baby was? If we don’t look out, we might miss Christ’s presence around us.

The drive to work, planning meals for the next week, changing the windshield wipers, getting up early to pray – these little moments of fidelity are where Christ is present and acting in our lives. It’s an unassuming presence. One that eschews the spectacular and elevates the mundane. A duty performed for the 543rd time excites no fervor nor does it receive any recognition. Most likely, that’s the moment that you experience God’s presence and grace working in your life. Christ comes gently, quietly. In your humblest duties, you can find the Christ who appeared not as a priest, prophet, or king, but as a little humble baby.