Looking for the Sacred in the Ordinary

Dec 17, 2024
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Looking for the Sacred in the Ordinary

In his Christmas reflection, Stephen Baxter shifts focus to look for the sacred in the ordinary.

It wasn’t even December, yet the shop windows had already begun filling with Christmas tinsel and lights. I found myself offended. Again. Each year I react: the marketing motivation is not about the incarnation, but the income; not on the celebration, but the selling. This year, however, I was struck by something new—I realised God once window-shopped these streets. Not literally these streets, of course, but the dusty marketplaces of ancient Nazareth. 

Perhaps my offence needed reshaping.

There’s something profoundly striking about God appearing in a pile of straw—a divine reminder that God has experienced life’s messy ordinariness. This was a sacred embrace of everyday experience, with all its contradictions, tragedies, ironies, pain—and yes, its beauty. 

I sensed I needed to pause, slow down, and reconsider my offence.  

Finding Holy Ground

God entered the world. My world. Which means the simple act of sharing coffee with a friend turns into a sacred space, because Jesus connected with people over meals and conversation.

The weight of family responsibilities takes on new meaning because Jesus experienced human weariness. And even those challenging conversations with children carry holy potential—after all, God chose to grow through human development, experiencing both the tenderness, and tension, of family life. 

That God is involved in my everyday life means I can approach my inbox with patience, where each email becomes an opportunity to exercise grace. Work and workplace become “holy ground”, because God’s presence makes even the most ordinary parts of life holy. And I could respond to shopfront Christmas decorations with more grace and understanding, because at least they point to a profound reality.  

A reality that’s one of the deepest mysteries of Christmas—not just that God became human once, but that God’s presence remains with us, always.  

A Place Where God Dwells

Christmas, the celebration of God’s incarnation, extends an everyday invitation to you and me. It is an encouragement to see every moment, every situation, and every location as a place where God dwells. The morning commute becomes holy ground, the office cubicle a potential site of divine encounter, and even the dishes in the kitchen sink create a possible sacred  moment. 

So this Christmas, I invite you to shift focus with me.

Rather than be offended by whatever it is about Christmas that upsets you, join me in looking for the sacred in the ordinary—where God meets us in unexpected and surprising places.

After all, that is what Christmas is all about, isn’t it?

Stephen L. Baxter is Mission Director for Tasmanian Baptists.

Looking for the Sacred in the Ordinary

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