Last night I was reading my kids a bed time story, and I chose to read them the story of Christ's birth. I was once again reminded of the amazing story. How miraculous it was, how amazing that Divine Love chose to reveal its self first to the poorest of poor, and to the forgotten. I was thinking about how God chose to be born in a place as terrible as any ghetto or abandoned city like Camden, New Jersey. You'd think a King would have chose somewhere more fitting like Rome or Paris. I thought about how God humbled himself in human flesh, making the journey from the womb and through the birth canal, finally to lay naked and crying, covered in the blood and bodily fluids of Mary, struggling to find her breast and drink from her His own sustenance. I remembered how if it were not for God's profound love for humanity, this event would have never occurred. But on that night,at that time in history, more then just a bedtime story or myth took place, an actual event happened that would forever change the way the world thought of God. With that brilliant star gleaming above a filthy manger, with the stench of animals all about, and very few knowing the miracle of what had just happened, in Nazareth my King arrived.It's hard to keep this in perspective when I am bombarded with all this materialism and pressure from society that Christmas is truly about riches and spending money none of us have. We all think about it every year, we charge our credit cards to make everyone happy and cross our fingers that we don't over draft and that we gave good enough presents.You know I love my friends dearly. If I were rich, trust me I'd probably give away a lot more then I kept. Its unfortunate to think that some of my friends or loved ones may measure my love for them in the gifts I am able to give. The truth is there really isn't any material gift I could give to show how much I love those closest to me. But now I have children and I feel this immense pressure to have a billion Christmas presents under the tree.Problem is I just spent my entire day pulling my hair out, talking to bankers, muttering profanities under my breath and crying over the bills. In the end I discovered that this Christmas won't be like the last, we just cannot afford it and the stack of bills in front of me attest to that. Hmm . . .Great way to start the Christmas Season.Somehow I have to remember that despite Black Friday where others trample people to death so they can get their door-buster prize, Christmas is more then materialism, more then the plastic toy that will soon lay neglected, dusty in the corner, as your child still plays with the box it came with. Christmas is more then a holiday in which children are taught to expect everything, and at the same time taught to give nothing. It's more then a time where parents are sweating over finances and so many around my own neighborhood don't even know how they will afford a "nice" Christmas. No,that's not Christmas. At least not that one that brings tears to my eyes as I listen to Silent Night. I'm not crying over presents and sales at Macy's. I feel emotional because of the birth of Christ, because I can share love with my family and give to others as Christ gave so much to us. St. Nick left the poor small gifts in their shoes. I doubt today that he would be very proud of being the "King" of Christmas. While the true "King" is ignored, as well as His ways.I doubt St. Nick would be happy about saying "Happy Holidays" so as not to offend others with the name of Christ. I doubt he'd be very thrilled about Black Friday and charging credit cards, where Christmas is more about boosting the economy once a year then loving others and living with content in our lives by living within our means. I doubt God is very happy about it either. Christmas is what you make it I suppose. It doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. But I just wish for every ones sake we wouldn't buy in to all the materialism that comes with the season.Christmas has always been about the poor, starting with our Savior. He chose to come wrapped in the humility of humanity. He could have been born anywhere, He could have appeared to anyone. But God chose to come in the lowest form. It is our remembrance of Him that makes Christmas worth having. Honestly if it were all about getting huge gifts that I cannot afford, and stuffing myself with cookies it may not matter to me after awhile. Well. the cookies might matter . . . But really it would all certainly lose its meaning if it were all about the presents.Christmas is an opportunity not only to remind myself of the meaning of my life, the coming of my savior Jesus Christ, but also to remind my children to love each other, our neighbors and others in this world.All I know is that I don't want to give into that pressure this year. I shouldn't have to feel that Christmas in cancelled because I don't have a lot of money. Because if I really believe that to be the truth I have defined Christmas to be something other then what I would like to celebrate it as. I think Linus said it best on Charlie Browns Christmas, which I still remember watching when I was four years old dressed in my pajamas. Linus told everyone what Christmas was really about through a single, simple Bible verse."Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: " Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
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