Christmas Remembering

Below you will my December 2008 column for the Montgomery Advertiser.

I’ve heard it was the best looking Christmas tree the county had ever seen. Its branches were adorned with the finest ornaments. The lights were draped in perfect, untangled circles around the branches. The silver tinsel looked beautiful against the deep green of the Fraser Fir. It was the perfect tree and would have complimented those joyous days leading up to the Nativity of our Lord, with one exception. It was not in a living room, or den. In fact, it was not even in a house. It sat on its side by the curb, waiting for a pre-Christmas garbage pick-up.

The story of how it got there is legend. Each time my family begins to argue over the decorations on a tree or one that leans a little too much, we mention this discarded tree, and a hush comes over the room.

The story goes like this. A family made their annual pilgrimage to a local tree farm to cut a fresh tree. It was one of those family traditions that had to be just right. Once the tree was located and cut, they brought it into their home, wrestled with putting it in the tree stand and began decorating it. This is where the drama began. There was a great deal of “discussion” over what to put on or take off the tree. It was during this discussion that the tree fell for the first time. They got the tree back up and finished decorating it. Over the course of the next week it fell another time and was put back up. Each time it fell there was more discussion, debate and groaning. When it fell the third time, the father of this family had had enough. As his family moaned around him, he picked the tree up with Herculean strength, practically kicked the front door open, marched to the street and in one graceful action hoisted the beautiful tree over his head and threw it on the curb. He walked back into the house and the tree was never mentioned again.

The season of Advent, the four weeks before Christmas when Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, can by trying for some. These short winter days are filled with a certain amount of expectation as we anxiously await the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior. But it is in such times of waiting that some of us can lose heart. During the holidays, the mechanics of life can overwhelm us. We look around and see all of the lights, and think about the activities, the parties and the shopping lists. Our televisions are filled with images of how we should enjoy Advent and Christmas. We see shiny, happy people decorating trees that don’t lean, and baking perfect cookies as they hug babies who don’t cry. This season is particularly stressful for many in the wake of the worst financial crisis this world has seen in many years. The decorations, the tree and the gifts may be smaller or non-existent and some may think this means Christmas is ruined this year. They watch others walk swiftly toward Christmas seemingly filled with joy, while they continue to languish in life’s wilderness, feeling as if they keep coming up short, feeling forgotten.

Far from being forgotten, God is here in our midst, moving through the very moments of our waiting. His mighty arm of salvation breaks into this world, as it has throughout the history of God’s people. It crashes down on us in the ordinary and the extraordinary. God guides us through those people and circumstances we expect, and those we least expect. He points our way to Bethlehem, where He waits for us. As we approach the threshold of that lowly stable, we see the Holy family, weathered and yet strengthened by a journey of faith that began with Mary’s simple “yes” – “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” [Luke 1:38]. We stand awestruck in the presence of the Divine. We stare into the light of salvation, amazed that it comes in the most unexpected ways. A hand gently ushers us into the presence, and a voice whispers...“behold, life.”

This Christmas let this life and the life it gives each of us be our vision. Let us enjoy the decorations and the celebrations but remember that they, no matter how perfect, will never provide peace and joy. A line from my son’s Christmas pageant says it best, “Even today, we are still spreading the Good News that Jesus brings peace and joy to all who seek Him.”