...and warring humankind hears not the tidings which they bring;
O hush the noise and cease your strife and hear the angels sing…
It seems ironic that carols like the one above are now blasted to us over department store loudspeakers so often and so early that they have now become part of the noise from which we must escape if we are to preserve our sanity through the month of December. With so many voices clamoring for our attention, it is no wonder that this time of the year can be so exhausting. Wouldn’t it be great if true religion and faith were as easy to come by as all the Christmas albums in the stores? I was thinking about how tough Christmas may be this year for so many suffering from the economic slump, when I remembered a song from Merle Haggard’s Christmas album called “If we make it through December.” In one verse of the song Merle sings: “I don’t mean to hate December, it’s meant to be the happy time of year. And my little girl don’t understand, why daddy can’t afford no Christmas here.” The sad part of this song, for me at least, is not that the father can’t afford Christmas, it’s that he thinks Christmas is something that needs to be purchased. What was once a celebration of God’s love for us and his presence in our lives, has now become a commodity which can be bought and sold like any other. We often forget that the announcing angel who called the shepherds to the stable wasn’t selling tickets. The only gift Mary and Joseph received was the gift of a child to love, who loved them in return, infinitely more than they could imagine. The shepherds brought nothing to the manger but their own sense of curiosity and wonder. The three wise men brought gifts, but nothing appropriate for a child. Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh were token gifts, meant to symbolize the wise men’s adoration of Jesus as a baby king, they weren’t toys. The only gift given on that first Christmas was the gift of God’s love to us, which he in turn invites us to extend to each other. Sometimes love is an easier gift to give than to receive. Sometimes all the busyness of the holidays prevents us from hearing the angel message. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy holiday traditions just like anyone else and I certainly take pleasure in giving and receiving gifts, but these things are meant to enhance the Christmas season, not define them. One of my favorite holiday traditions is the Yule Log, which is a fake fireplace that is broadcast over some TV stations on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I love this tradition because it keeps the TV busy for a few hours and allows us to focus our attention on each other. For a while the noise of commercials telling us what we need to buy in order to be happy are silenced and we are given the chance of actually listening to the angels in our life. Our Christmas Tree at Christ Hospital is going to be very different this year. Staff members have been invited to donate angel ornaments to decorate the tree in honor or in memory of the loved ones in their lives. The real gifts of Christmas are the angels that God sends into our lives, often in the form of our loved ones, who serve as a visible sign of God’s invisible love. Christmas is a gift that none of us can afford, but luckily it is a gift that none of us will ever have to purchase.
Blessings,
It seems ironic that carols like the one above are now blasted to us over department store loudspeakers so often and so early that they have now become part of the noise from which we must escape if we are to preserve our sanity through the month of December. With so many voices clamoring for our attention, it is no wonder that this time of the year can be so exhausting. Wouldn’t it be great if true religion and faith were as easy to come by as all the Christmas albums in the stores? I was thinking about how tough Christmas may be this year for so many suffering from the economic slump, when I remembered a song from Merle Haggard’s Christmas album called “If we make it through December.” In one verse of the song Merle sings: “I don’t mean to hate December, it’s meant to be the happy time of year. And my little girl don’t understand, why daddy can’t afford no Christmas here.” The sad part of this song, for me at least, is not that the father can’t afford Christmas, it’s that he thinks Christmas is something that needs to be purchased. What was once a celebration of God’s love for us and his presence in our lives, has now become a commodity which can be bought and sold like any other. We often forget that the announcing angel who called the shepherds to the stable wasn’t selling tickets. The only gift Mary and Joseph received was the gift of a child to love, who loved them in return, infinitely more than they could imagine. The shepherds brought nothing to the manger but their own sense of curiosity and wonder. The three wise men brought gifts, but nothing appropriate for a child. Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh were token gifts, meant to symbolize the wise men’s adoration of Jesus as a baby king, they weren’t toys. The only gift given on that first Christmas was the gift of God’s love to us, which he in turn invites us to extend to each other. Sometimes love is an easier gift to give than to receive. Sometimes all the busyness of the holidays prevents us from hearing the angel message. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy holiday traditions just like anyone else and I certainly take pleasure in giving and receiving gifts, but these things are meant to enhance the Christmas season, not define them. One of my favorite holiday traditions is the Yule Log, which is a fake fireplace that is broadcast over some TV stations on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I love this tradition because it keeps the TV busy for a few hours and allows us to focus our attention on each other. For a while the noise of commercials telling us what we need to buy in order to be happy are silenced and we are given the chance of actually listening to the angels in our life. Our Christmas Tree at Christ Hospital is going to be very different this year. Staff members have been invited to donate angel ornaments to decorate the tree in honor or in memory of the loved ones in their lives. The real gifts of Christmas are the angels that God sends into our lives, often in the form of our loved ones, who serve as a visible sign of God’s invisible love. Christmas is a gift that none of us can afford, but luckily it is a gift that none of us will ever have to purchase.
Blessings,
Fr. Kevin
