Coffee and the Promise of the Incarnation

The Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. // Romans 10:11

I stood over a small saucepan at my stove, warming up my morning cup of coffee, noticing tiny bubbles forming on the edges. Sizzling sounds erupted as my wooden spoon prodded through the black liquid. I watched for the steam rising as it caught the window light. The sprinkles of cinnamon released their aroma, reaching for my nose. 

I was reheating my coffee this way because we don’t own a microwave anymore. The morning brew from our coffee maker had grown cold because I had spent the morning getting my blood drawn. I was getting my blood drawn because my husband and I are in our fourth year of infertility, and we recently started a new round of testing. 

So while I stood over my stove, waiting for my coffee, I began contemplating the art of waiting on God’s fidelity. The kind of waiting that involves hope and surrender. Oh, how this virtue pushes and stretches us, doesn’t it? 

My mind drifted to the birth of Jesus. 

Having recently heard the genealogy of Jesus during Mass, I thought about the long line of generations that preceded His birth. I recalled how much waiting was involved in the Old Testament. How many thousands of faithful Israelites died before they saw the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior? Yet, as we hear in the First Reading, no one who believes in Him has ever been put to shame (see Romans 10:11).

As we approach this liturgical season of waiting, God invites us to believe in His promises to us over and over again. The first sentence of Saint Andrew’s Christmas Novena provides an eloquent reminder of this: 

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. 

Sister, do not be afraid to bring your heart full of hope to the edge of the wooden manger. Gaze upon the miracle that took thousands of years for God to reveal. Let the blessed moment of your Savior’s birth constantly remind you of God’s fidelity made flesh.