It’s a story like no other!
George Bailey teaches us to appreciate all the imperfections of our ‘one wild and precious’ life. The Grinch reminds us that “maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store; maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” And “The Family Stone”, one my favorites, makes me laugh and cry, often at the same time, as it reveals the beautiful messiness of family life.
But the Christmas story – as in the birth of Jesus – that story, is the story like no other! And whether or not one believes it actually happened the way Luke and the church have told us it happened, it is a story worth telling and retelling, again and again.
Just consider some of the themes: the stars announce the birth of a child-king; born to a peasant couple, in a dank and dirty barn; calling all people, beginning with local, lowly shepherds, and ending with wise rulers from distant lands, to discover the divine presence in the neighborhood; and all so that we might learn to live in ways that honor, respect, and care for all that is.
It’s a story teaches us several things. First, all creation, even the stars, have the capacity to point humanity to the wonder and beauty of the universe: to that which one might even say is holy, and sacred. Second, divinity – and by that I mean the dynamic mystery of the universe – is both transcendent, and immanent, and can be known and experienced by all people and creation, and more often than not in the most simple and humble of circumstances. And third, it is a story that calls us to live in the pattern of one who rejects religious hypocrisy, who denounces the power of empire, and who models a life that pursues justice and loves extravagantly! It truly is a powerfully transforming story. And whether one takes it literally, or metaphorically, it is a story that needs to be told each and every time Christmas rolls around . . . regardless of what one ‘believes.’
So I’m not getting rid of my nativity sets anytime soon. I’m going to unwrap all of those delicate figurines, and I’m going surround my little clay family with sheep and shepherds, with camels and kings, and maybe even with an ass and an angel! I’m going to put lights and candles around it, and hang the biggest star I can find above it. And then I’m going to allow the power of its message to continue the process of transforming the world, by transforming me!
May we all do the same!
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