Embracing joy

Why, you might ask, am I awake and blogging at 5:30 am on Christmas Eve?  Surely there is cooking and baking to be done (yup).  Surely there are pre-Christmas calories to be burned off (yup).  Surely I am going to regret this by about one pm this afternoon when things really get going (most likely).  But I can't help it.  My family is here to celebrate Christmas with us in our new home and it's almost Christmas - I'm excited and, therefore, wide awake!

I have a decorative plate that I put up every Christmas season that reads, "Joy resounds in the hearts of those who believe in the miracle of Christmas,".  I know, it's cheesy.  But I like it because there are some important things to believe in at Christmas.  First of all there's Santa, and the plate reminds me of the message of one of my newer favorite Christmas movies, The Polar Express.  Not only is the movie magical, but who can resist Josh Groban's soaring voice at the end inviting us to believe?  But, of course, the real thing that I choose to believe in at Christmas is Jesus.  That God sent God's son to earth in the form of a baby with a plan for him to save us.  There is a lot about Jesus that is unbelievable.  There is a lot about the Jesus' birth story that's unbelievable.  But I read a blog post yesterday that stuck with me.

"How much room do we have for exuberant happiness, unrestrained celebration, and extravagant wonder? 

Sometimes, joy gets crowded out by our often unconscious assumptions that skepticism is a surer mark of intelligence than is faith and that suspicion is more authentic than affirmation. 

At least since Descartes, doubt has been more satisfying to the Western mind than has trust. I don’t want to surrender any ground we’ve gained by the exercise of rigorous reason; after all, it has helped to expose folly, sham, and superstition. Critical reason and sound logic are companions, not adversaries, of genuine faith. 

I’m not interested in blind belief or deaf assent, not at all, but perpetual deconstruction leaves us bereft of enchantment, transcendence, and mystery. Carlyle Marney used to say that the mind is like an attic window: stuck open is as bad as stuck shut. What do we affirm, trust, and believe?"

My awake-at-5-in-the-morning-because-it's-almost-Christmas self loves how this author invites us to embrace joy this Christmas.  There is a lot to be wary of in the world.  Belief is hard.  Life is often tragic.  There are many for whom joy is just not what they're feeling right now, and that's perfectly alright.  But if you can, I hope that you will join me in trying to embrace simple joy and belief.  The belief that God can do miraculous things to bring God's love to life here on earth.  The belief that God acts in ways beyond our understanding to be with us.  God's love was the first Christmas gift, it's a gift that is still being offered and received...it's unbelievable, incredible and pure joy.

O come all ye faithful...come let us adore him.

Merry Christmas!

The dark and light of Advent

A blog post I read yesterday commented that this has been a dark Advent season, and the phrase has stuck with me.  There are so many horrible and terrifying things happening in the world around us, and so much un-loving going on by those in our country in response.  "Peace on earth" is a common platitude to hear during this season but I think we all need to give it some more serious thought and prayer than perhaps we normally do.

So I've not only been feeling very sad about all these tragic events but rather guilty too.  Because what am I doing about it?  What can I do about it?  A theological thought that has been brought to the forefront of my faith by seminary is that I as a Christian have a responsibility to help bring God's love and God's kingdom into being here on earth, now.  But what in the world can I do?  What do I actually want to do?  It's very easy to hide in my little corner of the world and focus on my family.  Which is in fact what I've been doing, because my two little shining lights are blissfully ignorant of what's going on in the world around them, and there is no sense or point in bringing the darkness into their lives, not yet.

And so in caring for them I have my temporary escape from the darkness.  And for better or worse, we got to spend our Saturday setting up our Christmas tree, fresh from the farm!

We took a hay ride over the hills and through the woods to pick out our Christmas tree.

Mercifully we didn't lose track of this quick footed one in the grove of pine trees, but he sure had fun giving us a run for our money!

Tree victory!  Hooray for super Hubby!

Then they humored me by posing in Santa's sled while Daddy loaded the tree in the car.

How privileged most of us are to be troubled by the news but not directly impacted.  The darkness of this season may not go away, it may even get worse, so I guess it's fitting that we're in a season of Advent, of waiting for the light of the world to come into the world.  We're all here waiting God, please show up through us and show up for us.  We're all waiting...