If you believe in the Christmas story as part of your faith journey, then God gave it all. God is in it for the long journey. If you do not believe in the story from a faith perspective, you can still celebrate Christmas. It is still about giving, family, sacrifice and hope. As you approach another Christmas Day, what are looking forward to on that day ? What are you dreading on that day, and how can you change how you react to something bad happening ?
In the New Testament ( one of the holy books of the Christian faith ) there are many people who are introduced into the story before the birth of Jesus. These people include Elizabeth, Zechariah, angel Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, and there is also a long genealogy in the Matthew biography of Jesus. In the family tree, there are three women named who were sinners or outsiders. What does this do to our remembering the story ?
In the biography of Jesus, written by Luke, there are other characters. We are reminded of John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit, more angels, and that there were politicians who were in charge different areas of the Roman Empire. Then, there are the people that are in the story but not mentioned. What were the parents of Joseph and Mary thinking of the events that their young children told to them. “ You are not pregnant, and it is not God that made you pregnant. This is blasphemy.” might have been the words that Mary’s mother said to her daughter, or at least thought to say to her daughter.
Then, when the young couple get to Bethlehem we have the innkeeper, the tax assessors, the shepherds, and the singing angel choir. You can imagine who might also be in the story. Where was the local rabbi during this time ? And what were the neighbours saying about this birth, if their house was just down the road ?
As we put our manger scenes together this year, we want the season to be a happy one. We want all the animals to behave in the scene. We want the birth to be uncomplicated, even though the mother might be delivering in a barn or a cave. We want soft caroling to be sung in the background, and all the characters, from the Wise Men to the shepherds, to have smiles on their faces. And we all will understand what the birth will mean for us and the world. And when we take down the manger for the year, we will know how to act as followers of the baby Jesus.
This is a lot of expectations to have on every Christmas season. No wonder, we enter January with a great sense of loss, that we have missed it again. “ I do not know what I missed this Christmas, but I did not find what I might not have been looking for on December 25 “, might explain the confusion that we find ourselves every January. So, what are we looking to receive during Advent and Christmas ?
God gave us the gift of the child, “God with us “. God gave the baby to change the world. Maybe it is the giving that we might find the meaning and joy of Christmas. I have given gifts every year, and it sometimes leaves me with saying that it is not enough, or it was not quite the right gift for the right person. So, where do I find the meaning of Christmas this year, in giving or receiving ?
I came across a story on the Woolwich Community Services facebook page. It is a story that might shape my faith response to the birth of the baby, this year. Emily and Cassidy Bauman were walking in town, and found $10 on the road. They decided to pay it forward to the Goodwill program. I know these girls, and their parents, and both sets of grandparents. I am almost sure it came out of their understanding of what the story means. The story has been embedded in their hearts, souls and minds. The $10 does not solve all the problems in this world, but it has made a difference in how think and act in my faith. Thank you Cassidy and Emily.
Fred Redekop
Ponder Anew 