Enough Said - Merry Christmas

And the big day has arrived, what we’ve been waiting for, it’s Christmas. So many writers, poets and songwriters have made attempts to pen the meaning of Christmas. Here are a few of the classic examples of songs we sing during the Christmas season, attempts to state in melody the significance of the birth of Christ:


• Away in a Manger
• The First Noel
• God Rest You Merry Gentlemen
• Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
• Joy to the World
• O Come, All Ye Faithful
• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
• O Little Town of Bethlehem
• Silent Night, Holy Night
• We Three Kings
• What Child is This?

Of course, there are also many movies, books, poems, and the like that attempt to tell the story of failure, rebirth, and redemption in modern terms, or in what were modern terms when written. Like so many “rewrites and remakes”, the original is often the best, and probably also the most simple.

The Gospel of Luke tells the story in this way, “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, (14) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Matthew’s Gospel tells of the Wise men finding the Christ Child, “And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.” So much is written as well in the form of prophecy that speaks of the coming of the Son of man, the Son of God, the Savior, Christ the Lord.

As I tucked my little girl in tonight, she asking for a story which she always does, I told her the story of a young woman, so close to giving birth, and her husband, traveling for a census, finding no room, and the woman delivering the child in the company of cows, sheep, dogs, donkeys, birds, and other animals, a simple start, that changed the world forever. Half way through my story, my little angel cried out, “that’s about Jesus”, telling me her version as I told her mine.

We all have versions of our life story, and we all have our failures, our struggles, our dashed dreams and hopes, our finding salvation and redemption along the roads of life. Our stories might be different, our versions changed to reflect our experiences and perceptions, individual as we are. But in the end, the story is the same. Our Salvation rests in the birth of a Child, in the love of a God, in a choice of the heart, to be reunited from sin to everlasting life with God. Enough said. Merry Christmas.


(The writings in this post are random thoughts and observations and are NEVER intended as professional or personal advice. Take what works and leave the rest. For information on mental health and/or substance abuse help, visit http://www.rodneyvalandra.com and refer to the links page.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You Saw What?

Image
That old saying about opinions surely applies to perceptions. You and I can visually see the same thing and have different perceptions. And this applies to what we hear, experience, and belief. I perceive the cold and beauty of winter as that of a child, with excitement and joy, whereas my friend might experience this as misery and confinement. And then, the cost of heating and the fear of freezing could be a completely different and drastic impression to others. In my opinion, I only know of one absolute. Most everything else is perception. It seems to me that we quickly, and oh so easily, fall into the belief that our perceptions are fact and in many cases, especially for those of us with higher degrees of control needs and rigidity, fail or refuse to see past what we feel. As I listen to people around me, in my interactions, I am aware of how perceptions interfere with the ability to truly hear and understand others. I heard a person once state, “They’re my feelings and so their
Read more

Worthy and Wanted

Image
Many of us attempt to start our days each day in a positive manner, with a direction that will guide us in a meaningful and healthy manner throughout the remainder of the day. Some begin with exercise, others coffee (yes, coffee is very meaningful), others some form of relaxation, others meditation, and others prayer, or a combination of more than one. Beginning our days in a purposeful manner helps us to manage and resist the coming anxiety and stress that life in the real world brings. In beginning a day, I came along a prayer from another person, penned anonymously, in a daily reading, which was simple and yet so complex. It read, “I pray that I may never make anyone feel repulsed or unwanted”. Sounds good, sounds simple, sounds easy enough. And then, when I contemplate the depth of such a prayer, I realize the true difficulty of such a prayer. A similar prayer echoes through my mind, “Lord, help me to return to this bed causing as little harm as possible throughout my day”. Such
Read more

Is it Tired or Am I Just Getting Old

Image
Ever fell back in life and the brain yells to you, wow, am I tired. And I'm not talking about being tired because of life, yard work, and post-activities of the day; just plain tired. There are days that "running away", like we use to threaten as small angry children with red faces and clinched fists, is just appealing. The thought of bundling it all up on the end of a stick and hitting the big open road tugs at the wondering heart, feeling there's got to be something better than this. Times like that when I wish I knew how to ride a motorcycle, wind in my hair, a thousand miles an hour down a road of who really cares where it ends, just as long as I'm riding (you motorcycle freaks know what I'm talking about, even if I don't). Or maybe it is the realization that age is catching up and the colorful vivid memories of our past sail us down that old and familiar river of d'Nile, convincing ourselves that we can somehow magically recapture our youth. So w
Read more