House Cleaning

I finished taking down the rest of our Christmas decorations today. It seemed good to get the house back to normal. (I do have a Christmas room, though, where I keep two tall corner trees up all year, fully decorated, and a large window seat with pine garland and lights, so that I can have 'Christmas in July,' or any time I want.
It's a great room; it's really a sanctuary, where I can find peaceful refuge.)

Rounding up all the soft Santas, the bright and glittering balls, the candles --it all takes time and effort. Then I gazed around to make certain that I had removed everything that spoke "Christmas" -- peering closely at the shelf that had held the Nativity to be certain I didn't leave a lamb, or an angel, in sight. There was one beautifully iridescent, transparent ruby globe lying on the carpet. So I quickly reclaimed it and placed it in the final box.

Christmas seemed like a dream. A truly beautiful dream. But when you awake it vanishes and nothing is left to mark its existence, except the memory of its loveliness. And that will be gone soon.

So I had removed Christmas from our home. Art would carry the boxes that I had carefully repacked up the stairs to a storage place over our garage.

But what about my heart? Will I allow the miracle of the Incarnation to remain inside me? Or will I purge it away -- remove all evidence from my life?

It seems everybody loves a baby.

I remember reading about the assassination of President James Garfield (1881). When his elderly mother, Eliza, was informed of his death, she asked, "Who would want to shoot my baby?" Which, I realize does not pertain to this subject -- I just think it is a poignant reflection of mother love.

But, yes, most people do love babies. Even animal babies. We had three baby armadillos in our garden. Though not totally blind, they are very poor-sighted. They walked over our feet, stumbled around us, not old enough to know we were dangerous. And they were so cute! So mesmerizing!

Even baby hippos are beautiful!

Yes, everybody loves a baby. But the presence of a baby, even God's Son, is not the real point of Christmas.

The miracle is so much bigger! God Himself, the sovereign Creator of all that is, invaded our world and took up residence, becoming flesh and dwelling right among us, leaving witness of His life and activities for later generations, just as He had previewed it all in advance, and gave us that record, too.

It was a rescue mission planned way in advance, before time or anything else existed.
This is still so astonishing! He was going to mend this broken world in a way no one expected -- even though He told us what to look for -- by being born in a "one horse" village in Nazareth -- in a cattle stall, of all places!

And through His invasion, God works His grand plan. He established His reign on earth and then left His army as an occupying force, His Church, to work His plan until He returns and declares His final victory!

While on earth He announced His agenda: To preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see,and to free the downtrodden from their oppressors --and to tell us that the day of the Lord's grace had come! Now His agenda becomes our agenda.

And this is why we call it the "Good News!"

And that's what takes all our attention now. Not the manger, but the cross. Not His birth, but our rebirth. Not the appearance of the shepherds and wise men to pay Him homage,but the expectation of the entire world recognizing Him and bowing in worship in that day yet to come. "So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11).

It is all, literally, breath-taking. And that joy will live within my heart every day of the year.