Monday Morning After
December 27, 2011
Now that Christmas is over, we are reminded that there is a lot more to the Christmas story than shepherds and Magi. Shepherds tell all Jerusalem. Magi return to the East and spread the news of anticipation. Mary and Joseph head to the temple for a child dedication and Anna and Simeon rejoice over the news. The word was spreading, and Jesus was still a baby.
On the other hand, King Herod was also trying to spread the news. By slaughtering the innocent boys, he sought to control his reign and convince the people there was no other king. But that rarely leads to lasting commitment. No one has ever truly been converted by violence. People may say what you want out of fear, but no one is ever convinced of a truth by force. Herod tried, and failed.
Christmas is another living example of that fact. Christmas is persuasion through love. For instance, John 3:17 reads:
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
On Christmas Eve, we let a Heavenly Voice lead us in imagining the mind of God considering how He should come to earth. With the children, we wondered what our lives would be like if Christmas had never happened. On Christmas Day, we translated the birth story into several languages, including donkey, cow, sheep, and dove. The children unwrapped all the gifts people brought for the church. After a dramatic presentation thanks to “A Prairie Home Companion”, our thoughts turned to the underlying Christmas message that God is with us in real life, not just the “manger moments”. You had to be there. Maybe you were.
