This is something I wrote in 2018. Still true. Perhaps because it’s a universal, timeless truth.
This Christmas morning, in the quiet of the house, I'm thinking about Christmas mornings in the past.
As a kid in Evanston, waking up and running downstairs to find the presents from Santa in the stocking and under the tree. We weren't allowed to open anything except the stocking, until our parents woke up, seemingly hours later. With them, we'd rip through the presents, and then enter the late morning coma-quiet, playing with presents. From there, we'd make our rounds to visit family friends, and eventually return home for a lovely dinner.
The Christmas in college I spent in East Berlin in the home of a Lutheran family, torn apart by the Berlin Wall. Their Christmas was quiet, absent the cultural support and frenzy, and the genuine lit candles on the tree were as beautiful and risky as their faith.
The Christmas after my mom died in late November. It was hard to get in to the Christmas spirit that year, although I went through the motions.
The Christmases in Seattle with our small kids. Coming home from Christmas Eve Service to finish wrapping and putting out the presents. Those Christmases I was the one late to rise, much to the disappointment of the kids.
The Christmas morn I was awoken by church bells in Greece. The kids were worried Santa wouldn't find them. Santa found our balcony for the stockings, and all was good with the world.
The Christmas mornings with my grown kids and their girlfriends or boyfriends. The cycle continues.
Christmas mornings are full of a lot of external pressure for performance and perfection. And those expectations never are true or comfortable or helpful. It is supposed to be this beautiful morning where everyone gets along, and you get the right gifts. And when everything is perfect, you are finally complete. Everyone is happy, smiling, healthy.
But it's rarely really like that, is it? Someone isn't healthy or happy. Family doesn't magically become the Rockwell people you've envisioned. And the perfect gift doesn't arrive or isn't as perfect as you'd imagined. With expectations like that, it's really hard to arrive at Christmas afternoon with a sense of celebration. More often, we're disappointed that things didn't turn out the way we'd imagined, never mind that it was never reality.
For me, this is a constant struggle on Christmas, or any holiday laden with expectations. But if we can strip away those expectations, and just LOVE, it's a magical day. Love the imperfect family members, in all their imperfection. Love the aging parents or bickering children. It's who they are, and I'm a part of their life. Love the gifts or hugs given in love. Beneath the hype, gifts that are given or received by loved ones are a token of that LOVE.
On top of all of that, it's Christmas morning. God has entered our world again in this human form. God in Christ lives among us to show us what the Divine is like. And God in Christ lived among us to learn from us mere mortals, and show the Divine what humanity is like.
God doesn't expect our Christmas to be perfect. Christ's certainly wasn't. But God wants us to know we are loved, and to show that love to all around us. That is something to Celebrate.
Merry Christmas!
As a kid in Evanston, waking up and running downstairs to find the presents from Santa in the stocking and under the tree. We weren't allowed to open anything except the stocking, until our parents woke up, seemingly hours later. With them, we'd rip through the presents, and then enter the late morning coma-quiet, playing with presents. From there, we'd make our rounds to visit family friends, and eventually return home for a lovely dinner.
The Christmas in college I spent in East Berlin in the home of a Lutheran family, torn apart by the Berlin Wall. Their Christmas was quiet, absent the cultural support and frenzy, and the genuine lit candles on the tree were as beautiful and risky as their faith.
The Christmas after my mom died in late November. It was hard to get in to the Christmas spirit that year, although I went through the motions.
The Christmases in Seattle with our small kids. Coming home from Christmas Eve Service to finish wrapping and putting out the presents. Those Christmases I was the one late to rise, much to the disappointment of the kids.
The Christmas morn I was awoken by church bells in Greece. The kids were worried Santa wouldn't find them. Santa found our balcony for the stockings, and all was good with the world.
The Christmas mornings with my grown kids and their girlfriends or boyfriends. The cycle continues.
Christmas mornings are full of a lot of external pressure for performance and perfection. And those expectations never are true or comfortable or helpful. It is supposed to be this beautiful morning where everyone gets along, and you get the right gifts. And when everything is perfect, you are finally complete. Everyone is happy, smiling, healthy.
But it's rarely really like that, is it? Someone isn't healthy or happy. Family doesn't magically become the Rockwell people you've envisioned. And the perfect gift doesn't arrive or isn't as perfect as you'd imagined. With expectations like that, it's really hard to arrive at Christmas afternoon with a sense of celebration. More often, we're disappointed that things didn't turn out the way we'd imagined, never mind that it was never reality.
For me, this is a constant struggle on Christmas, or any holiday laden with expectations. But if we can strip away those expectations, and just LOVE, it's a magical day. Love the imperfect family members, in all their imperfection. Love the aging parents or bickering children. It's who they are, and I'm a part of their life. Love the gifts or hugs given in love. Beneath the hype, gifts that are given or received by loved ones are a token of that LOVE.
On top of all of that, it's Christmas morning. God has entered our world again in this human form. God in Christ lives among us to show us what the Divine is like. And God in Christ lived among us to learn from us mere mortals, and show the Divine what humanity is like.
God doesn't expect our Christmas to be perfect. Christ's certainly wasn't. But God wants us to know we are loved, and to show that love to all around us. That is something to Celebrate.
Merry Christmas!
No comments:
Post a Comment