Today is the saint day
for St. Nicholas, a real man who lived many years ago. Generous to a fault, he is remembered
especially for his kindness and merciful acts. This is the day European children get their stockings or
shoes filled with chocolates and other treats.
From
Steve’s sermon preached in Mobile, Winter 2009:
The Consolation Does Come
Luke 2:25-38
I have two Christmas stories
rolling around in my mind this year. The first is the Christmas Vacation movie.
It’s a goof ball comedy where a man has huge plans for the perfect Christmas
and where everything goes horribly wrong. Near the end, when the tree has
burned, the turkey failed, the cat has died, and the police show up and he is
standing in the ruin of his holiday dream, somehow, he finds some version of
the true meaning of Christmas (family?). Still, in the last five minutes,
things come together and everything works- the Christmas lights come on and he
gets a huge Christmas bonus to buy his family a swimming pool. This is such an
American story! Things are a little hard, but in the end, you get a little
insight into what matters AND you get a pool.
I came across the second story
while looking for some Christmas books for a Spanish class I teach to children.
A little Hispanic boy is dreaming about a red ball for Christmas. He is part of
a very poor migrant family that has just had to move to find work. He wanted
the ball last year and didn’t get it. So this year he has renewed his wish. He
has watched his very kind parents struggle to make it. Christmas morning comes,
and he opens his gift: a little bag of candy. He is so disappointed. But then
he looks up and sees the tears on his mother’s face. He walks over and hands
her and his father a piece of candy and they all embrace, and there is a deep
sense of joy and gratitude hovering around. So…I turn the page and it says “El
Fin.” “The End”. What? No red ball. This is not an American Christmas story.
Somehow, the second story,
where a little boy and his parents taste some bitterness, but also real
joy…somehow, that story seems a little truer than the “have your cake and eat
it too” version of Christmas.
I’m all for Santa. We’ve talked
about having a big nativity scene on the roof next year with the three wisemen
and Santa all coming to worship the Newborn King. In fact, I not only believe
in Santa, I think that it’s worth trying to give children what they want for
Christmas no matter how bad they’ve been.
But the story of the little
boy is more like this story. The coming of Jesus story.