A good article by Amy Welborn in NRO reminding us that Christmas has a darker, and more serious side. She says in it:
The really traditional Christian remembrance of the Nativity is not about sweetness. It is about awe, fear, and trembling, and it is shot through with hints of suffering to come.
Mary, with a scandalous pregnancy. Joseph, courageous enough to take her on despite it. A birth among farm animals. The threat of death, from the very start, necessitating flight. Mary, told by the prophet Simeon that because of her son, her soul will be pierced by a sword (Luke 2:35).
We view the elements of the story in a nostalgic haze how sweet to be born with the goats. But is it? Is it sweet? Would you want to give birth among goats?
How charming that Mary and Joseph had to wander before and after the birth of the child. Charming until you remember the reasons why, the doors shut in the face of a heavily pregnant woman, the threat of death from a jealous king.
Look at it closely, with clear eyes. At every turn in this story of this baby there is threat and fear and powers circling, attempting to strike at the light.
I've stopped saying "Happy Holidays".
Merry Christmas
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1 comment:
i think once again, we are reminded, that Mary's journey was one of acceptance in the midst of confusion and awe. Mary's saying YES to God, was a statement, that whatever came her way, she was COMMITTED in following the call that God laid before her. Though challenging as this call was and is for us, she embraced it...and grew from it and because of this, we are better today
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