” I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”–Ezekiel 36:25-26

Mary, a pregnant woman, lying on a cold dirty barn floor births baby Jesus. This job was not a clean job. In fact, Mary experienced every contraction, every pain that came with giving birth to this precious one. But so often we try to shine up her birth. We try to make it less about the pain and humanity and more about the joy. Yet we cannot experience Jesus birth without really focusing on where he was born.

Jesus ministry begins in a dirty stinky unclean barn. Throughout his life, Jesus was the first to sit with those on the margins; the unclean. In fact, Jesus often chose the least likely to fulfill a mission for God. Jesus offered them the life giving water only Jesus can provide.

And this life giving water is offered to you and I too! We are not perfect. We sin. We are unclean because we are human. We don’t always make the most pure choices. We fixate on things that are not always so good for us. But our choices also remind us that we have life and breathe and depth.

Our hearts beat with every part of our being. As our hearts pump, beating with each moment, God reminds us that God has given us life. Life that is lived out when we share love with each other; accepting one another completely for who God created us to be. Enfleshed, living breathing children of God who are always welcome to the life giving waters of our God.

So when you think your neighbor is unclean, perhaps you should sit down, zip your lips shut and listen!