So here we are. Almost Christmas. Most of us have spent the last several weeks getting ready. Trees bought and decorated. Gifts bought and wrapped. Holiday parties. Family gatherings. Cookies left out for Santa. Cards and letters sent far and wide. All wonderful.
And here we are. In this place. Together with family and friends and neighbors. Which is as it should be. Together we sing the familiar carols. We light and hold our candles. We retell that age-old story. Silent Night. Holy Night. Wondrous star led by thy light. With the angels let us sing. All beautiful. Take it in.
But here’s the thing. For all our preparation and for all the beauty around us, I can’t help but wonder if there is something more. Something we miss in all our other planning and preparation, in all our decorations and gift giving. So much of what we spend time and energy and money on seems to have little to do with that simple, provocative, age old story that we read together each year.
A story so familiar we almost know it by heart. Gentle Mary. Stoic Joseph. Shepherds in the field abiding. Angels from the realms of glory. A story so layered by tradition and Christmas card images and softened by the glow of candles that the meaning and the challenge that the story presents get lost in the pageantry of our celebration. You know the story, but maybe you miss the tension. Here it is:
Caesar Augustus. Roman Emperor. Self-proclaimed son of god on one side. Jesus. Born in Bethlehem. Laid in a manger. The real Son of God on the other side. King Herod in his palace and on his throne in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph making their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem with no place to stay. The Roman legions patrolling the countryside and streets to impose their peace. The heavenly hosts with their proclamation of peace on earth; God’s good will to all.
As we hear the story, we are left to ask ourselves and then to decide. What is this story really trying to say? Which side of the story will we chose as OUR own to guide and direct OUR own living?
The Bible is never just about then but is also about now. Never just about them, but also about you and me. I wonder, what does all this mean for us today? With the world as it is? With our lives as they are?
If there is something in this story about Peace on Earth that weaves itself around some deep longing within you, how are you going to live that kind of Christmas? If there is something in this story about everyone having a place and not just the rich and the powerful; and something in the story that brings into focus how you imagine life and what the world might be. Should be. How is that going affect how you live that kind of Christmas?
Is there something in this story about God with us that rings true; that tugs at your spirit? God with us. Not God over us. Not God judging us. Not God condemning us. God with us in this wonderful, complex, sorrowful, joyful thing we call life. God with you and with me. God with them. God here. God now. Just as you are. Just as I am. Just as they are.
If there is something about this story, something about Christmas that is about more than trees and gifts and carols and cards, then let me ask, how are you going to live that kind of Christmas?
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!