The Overwhelming Metaphor of Christmas
#184
Friend,
The first Christmas may have had an angel chorus, but it also had a death threat, an evacuation, refugees, and the devastating murder of infant boys near Bethlehem.
The first Christmas had as much darkness as it did light.
And this is the world that Jesus entered into: a world of fear, of transition, of loss, of grief. Can you imagine the emotions of Mary and Joseph as they took this baby to a foreign land because home wasn’t safe? Can you imagine the weight of pressure they felt to keep the Son of God alive?
The overwhelming metaphor of Christmas every year is light shining in the darkness.
One of my Christmas traditions is to watch some of my favorite shows’ Christmas episodes. The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Community are three of my go-tos. I was watching “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” (which, if you don’t watch Community, is an absurd episode), and at the end of the episode, there is this exchange about Christmas:
ANNIE: It's the crazy notion that the longest, coldest, darkest nights can be the warmest and brightest.
BRITTA: Yeah, and when we all agree to support each other in that insanity, something even crazier happens.
ANNIE: It becomes true.
TROY: Works every year. Like clockwork.
Here we are again with the longest and darkest nights (not coldest in Oklahoma!), and yet light is breaking through. Do you see it?
Like clockwork.
Love,
Aaron
P.S. I’d love for you to find a Christmas Eve Service to attend. I’ll be at Christ Church on Harvard at 4:00, 7:00, and 11:00. I’d love to see you there.