By: Marek Zabriskie
This Christmas feels truly different. Many families will gather solely by Zoom.
Likewise, the commercialization of Christmas has been reduced. We’re going back to a simpler time with fewer presents and no parties to attend.
This year, it’s enough just receive a hug, a Christmas card, or to Facetime with family or friends as we recall how God’s love offers to dwell in every human heart.
As Silent Night permeates the world, a special spirit of kindness fills the air. Drivers are more polite. Customers are more considerate, strangers smile and say hello.
It is amazing how an event that took place 2,000 years ago can spark so many random acts of kindness. No other event in history has had a greater impact. One out of three persons on earth celebrates Jesus’ birth.
God draws near to the prosperous and the poor, the upright and the corrupt, the wealthy and the rag pickers, to help everyone know that they are loved and treasured.
We know the story by heart. A young Jewish couple obeyed orders to be registered for a census. They traveled 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The wife was nine months pregnant with a child that was a gift from God.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no room for them at the inn. So, Mary gave birth in a stable. The boy grew, lived, loved, taught and died for us.
It’s strange, stunning story about how God entered a remote corner of the Roman Empire with all the power of a feather being laid upon a pillow. God drew near so that we might draw near to one another and care for the hungry, the poor, the broken and the lost.
Jesus came to bring us joy – a profound sense of peace, security and wholeness – that far exceeds and outlasts happiness.
This Christmas takes us back before a time when an Episcopal Old Testament professor in New York penned a little poem called “The Night Before Christmas.” All of a sudden Santa Claus was off and running and soon became the star of Macy’s big parade to get people into the buying mood.
Since then, Christmas has been a time to buy things for people who have too much and to receive things that we will never use. But this Christmas feels different.
We are getting back to the basic message of God’s love and presence in our lives. The Dutch priest Henri Nouwen writes, “It’s more important to prepare the heart than it is to prepare the tree.”
God knows we need love, peace and joy as we confront this frightening pandemic, our losses in life, climate change, racism, political divides, and economic devastation. We need God to enter our hearts, homes, communities, nation and world.
Christmas is God’s answer to the darkness we face. It reveals that the author of this universe is not a remote, distant figure, but God has taken human flesh to draw near to us.
Christ’s birth is the answer to the questions, “Is God for or against us? Hostile or friendly? Aloof or involved? Out of reach or accessible?” The answers come not in the form of a proposition but in a person.
God came disguised as a baby, perhaps because babies do not go to war, worry about money or strive for power and fame. Babies just offer love. God chose to enter as a baby in a less than perfect situation, where a couple was not yet married and were forced to make a long journey.
Their son was born in a barn, where the fragrance of frankincense mingled with manure. Two thousand years later God continues to enter our imperfect marriages, relationships, and homes.
Christ came to conquer our fears. What would it mean if “Fear not” really came to us? Would it mean that we could face whatever tomorrow brings? Would it mean that we could be happy with what we already have? Would it mean that we could sleep soundly and trust that the world is in God’s good hands and let the weight fall from our shoulders?
At Christmas, even skeptics suspend their disbelief and realize that if God could be born among us, then everything is possible. The God we worship is not vengeful, distant or uncaring.
Rather God loves us like a good parent, who wants what’s best for us. God is our biggest fan.
God comes as a parent who offers a sympathetic ear, a best friend who calls or a grandchild who nestles in our lap. God comes with all the force of a whisper so as not to overwhelm us.
I tell each couple that I prepare for marriage that the best way to live happily ever after is to see the face of Christ in each other. We are called to be love incarnate to one another. God works through our less than perfect human flesh.
Jesus enters our lives as we do small acts of kindness for others. What is God inviting you to do so that Christ might be born in your heart and home? May this Christmas Season be spiritually powerful for you.
