Grace Notes
The Newsletter of Grace Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 18, Casanova, Virginia 20139 (540) 788-4419 December 2007
Christmas in Bethlehem. What a beautiful thing it is! There are decorative lights all around and evergreen trees (full size cut trees) mounted to each street light post. And that star on the hilltop that could be seen for miles from every direction. It was fun to go each year and walk the streets and hear the carolers sing and sense that something wonderful was happening. At Christmas time, Bethlehem is the most wonderful town to visit.
Hopefully you have figured out that I mean Bethlehem, PA, less than an hour from our former home. How great would it be though to walk the streets of the Bethlehem of Judea at this time of year and sense something of the wonder of that holy night long ago. It’s a night we sentimentalize, even when we don’t mean to. Even so, it’s better to be a little sentimental and place a proper focus on Jesus than to miss Him altogether and just focus on presents and pie and peppermint ice cream.
Right? I think so. Now there’s nothing wrong with presents and pie and peppermint ice cream, it’s just that they are not what Christmas really is all about. At least they are not what Christmas started out to be about.
Immanuel. God with us! The real gift that Christmas was from God Himself. In fact, the real gift that Christmas was God Himself. The true gift of Christmas is God’s presence with us which began then and continues to now. A gift we may enjoy every day.
So how did we get this far from a stable, a baby and a tired mom and dad? It was simple. Like so many things in life we took something that was good and each culture found their own ways to celebrate the significance of the birth of Jesus. Gifts and special foods and symbols which meant something in one culture were experienced by travelers from others and then “taken home” to their own cultures. Kind and caring Bishop Nicholas of Myra became the familiar Santa and we were off and running.
This whole phenomena gets multiplied in America with her melting pot of cultures and customs from all over the world. We have brought together Christmas customs literally from all over the world and made them our own. For instance, the evergreen Christmas tree (Vikings in Scandinavia), holly as a decoration (Celtic & Roman), lights on trees (German), the stocking being filled (Turkey), 12 days of Christmas (England).
Most of these have symbolism that began as a part of pagan traditions or ceremonies but which have been adopted and adapted into America’s celebration of Christmas. Can we ever get back to the original Christmas without all the glitz? Probably not. But we can allow the traditions and symbols to point to Christ and the meaning of His birth which gives the celebration its name.
After all, as cliché as it sounds, Jesus IS the reason for the season. If He had never been born, December 25 would probably still be the Feast of Saturnalia. But it’s not! It’s when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. And Advent is the season which helps to prepare us spiritually for our remembrance of Christ’s birth, so that our only preparation for Christmas is not just shopping, wrapping, cooking and parties.
So where does this all bring us? To a small stable and a feedbox not Peebles or even Walmart. To a humble, ordinary beginning for an extraordinary life. It brings us to the recognition that the “good old days” of Christmas’ past are better remembered than reproduced. It brings us also to the reality that most of what we celebrate as Christmas has nothing to do with Christ and His purpose in coming. So enjoy all the trappings and traditions but make sure you take some time this year to look to Jesus, not just as a baby, but as Lord of all heaven and earth and to recognize that He came to earth for you. The last verse of the Rev. Phillips Brooks well know hymn sums it up well:
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels and great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord, Emmanuel.
Have a blessed Advent and a Merry Christmas. Jim