Life is precious. But its value is not like that of a diamond: beautiful, strong and almost indestructible. Although, it can be like that sometimes as in moments of triumph and victory. But a diamond is not a living thing.
Life is precious, more like a bird: tiny, vulnerable, fragile and easily blown by a strong gust of wind. Life is precious precisely because it can be snuffed out anytime, unexpectedly and sometimes for the flimsiest of reasons. But even so, a bird can soar up to the sky and glide among the clouds like forever. That is beautiful. It speaks of the strength there is even in a tiny bird.
Maybe life is precious because it is like a diamond and a bird. Indestructible and fragile at the same time. Pain and pleasure. Tears and laughter. In the midst of the Christmas festivities, there is the tinge of sadness, melancholy, bitterness, sometimes even anger and regrets. In the midst of sorrow at the death of a loved one, there are moments of joy, compassion, forgiveness, loving remembrances and stronger bonds of family and friendship.
The man John saw coming towards him was not dressed in fine clothes. Nor did him come with a whole coterie of powerful retainers. He came like any of the ordinary folks who came to John to be baptized. But out of that ordinary event, extraordinary things begun happening in the world. Fragile, vulnerable, ordinary. Christ came and showed us how to transform the fragile and vulnerable into something precious and everlasting.