This post was written by Patrick Riecke, director, dignity and spiritual care, Parkview Health.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So, everyone went to their hometown to register. And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. – Luke 2:1-5
Snuggle in for the traditional Christmas story. But allow the details of this traditional reading to pierce your heart.
You see, the first Christmas wasn’t tied up with string or wrapped perfectly. It wasn’t American, snowing or adorned in LED lights.
The facts of the Christmas story are these:
- Mary and Joseph lived in a dictatorship that oppressed them violently.
- Mary and Joseph were travelers in an unfamiliar place.
- Mary was an unwed teen mother, the object of hateful judgments.
- Mary and Joseph were poor.
- Apparently, God chose this exact (awful) situation for the appearance of his son.
Did Mary wish things were different? Probably.
She was utterly convinced that she was giving birth to the Messiah. She knew that it was God coming to visit the earth.
And yet, she was broke. On the road. A pregnant teen.
Was Jesus born poor by accident? Was it a mistake?
No.
Most of us want to be rich. At least, I want to be rich-er.
But babies arrive when babies arrive. Seldom on our schedule.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. – Luke 2, continued
We have a rosy picture of this story in our minds. We imagine an overpopulated little town where a portly innkeeper regrettably has to send the lovely young couple away. However, two words are emphasized. The words ‘for them.’ Their social status has caused them to be rejected.
Mary and Joseph could not afford a gift, a hospital stay or even a roof over their heads. No big family, warmly receiving the new grandchild. They were visited only by strange shepherds from the hills. And they didn’t bring Baby Jesus home to a four-bedroom home with streaming smart TVs, heat, internet access or a tree surrounded by gifts.
And yet, they had joy.
They heard the voice of God.
They held each other.
They believed, against all odds, that God was with them. For them. Loved them.
The gospels say that Mary treasured all these things in her heart.
Over a decade ago, I read a story about a 71-year-old French electrician. It turns out that in his garage he had 271 works by Pablo Picasso. They were verified as authentic. He said that the master painter gave them to him decades before as a gift when he was installing a security system at Picasso’s home.
The trove was in a trunk in his garage for years, untouched. Their value is over 60 million euros.
A treasure. Already. In their garage.
The lesson (perhaps for you and definitely for me) is that we already have great treasure. Right under our noses.
We could wish away the day, hoping for better friends, more money and just a little appreciation. Or we could, like Mary, gaze at a gift already given. And treasure the moment in our hearts.
Your life is not perfect.
You have great treasure.
There could be more or better presents.
You have great treasure.
People have viciously judged you.
You have great treasure.
You aren’t where you want to be this Christmas.
You have great treasure.
No one understands you.
You have great treasure.
You long for things to be normal again.
You have great treasure.
Society is collapsing around you.
You have great treasure.
You are daily disappointed by the way life has turned out.
You have great treasure.
What do you need to be happy this holiday season?
May I suggest that you don’t need anything more than what you already have?
May I suggest that you don’t even need much of what you have now?
May I suggest that if you spent Christmas Eve in a stable, you could be happy?
What can you treasure this Christmas Eve? Say it out loud. I’ll go first …
I treasure my children, who are morphing into adults before my very eyes.
I treasure hanging that one ornament on the tree that means so much to me.
I treasure the verses of “Oh Holy night.”
I treasure the gray hair I have earned.
I treasure my accomplishments, even though there is more to do.
I treasure my bride, who shockingly accepted my marriage proposal in the late 1900s.
Your turn. What do you treasure? Say it out loud or write it down.
