Here’s the Christmas story as only the Peanuts gang can tell it.
May you see the miracles in front of you and the real gift of Christmas past, present, and future.
Blessings,
/jmt
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She may be taller than her mother, but she’s still a child. Well, a ‘tween, actually. I couldn’t help but think, “My God! Mary wasn’t much older than this when Gabriel spoke to her.”
She may be taller than her mother, but she’s still a child. Well, a ‘tween, actually. I couldn’t help but think, “My God! Mary wasn’t much older than this when Gabriel spoke to her.”
The cafeteria was barren. It was usually filled with people at lunch time. It seemed so empty. There we only a few people scattered around the room…and me.
Most of you were at home or visiting family. You were having festive lunches and dinners that day. Around me there were a few smiles, but most of the faces showed
- sadness,
- concern,
- fear,
- fatigue, and, in a few cases,
- seemingly limitless horror.
It was just another day at work…only on Christmas Day.
How dreadful…
The concept may seem simply awful to you…working on Christmas Day. It wasn’t so bad. My family had made holiday plans for the following week. Everyone else in my department needed off to host family or work at church. I had done my last service the night before, on Christmas Eve, and just kept on working…
I still had to justify it within. I was, after all, working on Christmas Day. My simple decision that day was to make the best of it.
How, exactly, does one make the best of working on Christmas Day?
Thinking of You
My simple answer was to think of others as I believe that Christ thinks of you and me. I was determined, at least, to try it.
I took candy and Christmas cards to work. Every nurses’ station got a card. I left one in the security office. I put one in the housekeepers’ lounge. I gave candy to anyone who would accept it. I sang! I laughed! Co-workers, patients and visitors often sang and laughed…with me or at me? That really doesn’t matter…
We also sighed, together. Some of us cried, together. A few of us asked, “Lord, why today?”
Firsts
That was a day of firsts. That was the first Christmas day that I had
- ever gone to work.
- ever consoled a grieving family.
- held someone’s hand as they died.
- prayed with a family at the death of a loved one.
- encountered the Risen Christ.
Where, exactly, had I seen Jesus?
He wasn’t in the decorations, the carols, the presents, the candy, or the cookies. Frankly, I had never seen him in those things, anyway, and haven’t to this day.
Seeing Jesus
On that Christmas Day, I found Jesus in the hands and faces of
- housekeepers doing their informal counseling as they cleaned;
- maintenance technicians as they changed light bulbs;
- security officers as they showed compassion to the distraught;
- patients as they suffered;
- family members as they prayed;
- visitors who took time, on Christmas Day, to think of someone else;
- medical technicians;
- nurses;
- doctors who didn’t begrudge their presence that day; and, I pray,
- the only chaplain working that day.
I’m pretty certain about all of those sightings of Jesus, except the last one. I thought about stopping to thoroughly check the chaplain’s face, but was too enthralled with all the other appearances of Christ on Christmas Day to look in the mirror.
I hope those who saw me, the chaplain, really saw him …the Christ. I hope my prayers, my presence, my tears, my hugs, my words, and even the candy and cards I handed out, aren’t remembered as mine. I hope they are remembered as his.
That was the first time I had ever really encountered Christ on Christmas Day.
He’s Still not…
I have yet to see him in the festive decorations. I have never seen him in presents under a tree. Even though I know the origin of the custom, I have never seen him in stockings hung on the mantle. I have never seen him in a rich holiday dinner, unless it’s served to Christ, himself, in the person of one who is usually without.
I like holidays. I like to spend them with my family, just like most of you. That causes me a problem…
I have seen Christ on Christmas Day!
A Problem Remains…
Without Christ, the traditions seem fun and refreshing, but they lack that healing, saving, forgiving, grace-filled quality that Jesus brings to the table. So, I struggle…torn between loves. I love my family and want to be with them in celebration. I love my Savior and want to be with him on the day that bears his name.
I have seen Christ on Christmas Day!
Talk Back!
Now, you know why my best Christmas experience was a day at work. It’s your turn. If you’d be so kind, tell me about
- your most moving Christmas experience,
- what you thought of my Christmas experience,
- what you felt as you read this piece,
- how you plan to find Christ in Christmas.
May he show us the way both to experience and be his presence on that day…and all the others.
Blessings,
/jmt
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Photo credits:
A Wal-Mart worker died early Friday after an “out-of-control” mob of frenzied shoppers smashed through the Long Island store’s front doors and trampled him, police said.
It’s the biggest shopping day of the year. According to CNN/Money, retails sales for Black Friday 2009 were somewhere around $10.66 billion. Most of the frenzy seems to hedge around deeply discounted sale items and the “must have” electronic gift items. At least, that’s where the conversations were headed among my extended family on Thanksgiving Day.
Black Friday
My own experience with early morning shopping has some of the drama of Black Friday 2008, but none of the death, thankfully. I remember the years working in retail and dreading Black Friday. Each year as the football games wound down my Thanksgiving joy turned into dread. I sensed disconnect between thankfulness, my own faith experience and what I was about to experience as a part of the culture of Christmas.
Perhaps my dislike of Black Friday stems from having to deal with over-motivated shoppers.
Perhaps it is that I link Christmas with something far more valuable than stuff.
Frenzy
What is it about shopping, sales, gifts, and gadgets that gets people into such a mental state that they would trample another person to death just to save a few dollars?
I’m cool with competition…even physically demanding games.
That rebound is MINE!
What I don’t get the mad dash for
- video games
- televisions, and
- toys.
The frenzy that I have observed seems to be more about
- greed,
- lust, and
- strife
than about the grace-filled images of the Christmas story.
Turn that Frown Up-side Down
Standing in the path of a cultural roller coaster is a dangerous game…kinda like playing “chicken” on I-95 or I-35 or I-405… You get the picture… There are times when that has been necessary. Fortunately, for you and me, this is not the Civil Rights movement or a struggle for Constitutional preservation.
I propose that the goal is both simpler and more daunting.
How do you gently turn
- greed into generosity
- lust into contentment, and
- strife into peace?
I think there’s a way to turn that frown up-side down…without getting thrown under the bus.
Be Covert
That’s right. Hide in plain sight. If you prefer
- generosity
- contentment, and
- peace,
then you are the enemy. If they see you coming, you’ll never catch up with them. They might even……
Yeeesh!
You’ve to be covert if you want to…
Subvert
Now that you’ve built rapport with the people you want to influence (and they don’t see you for the change-agent that you are), it’s time get to work.
How?
By gently undermining the principles of the Frenzy.
Remember, if they know where you are and what you are doing…. It won’t be pretty.
Here are the three primary ways to subvert appetites of the Frenzy.
- Respond with Generosity,
- Model Contentment,
- Practice Peace
Respond with Generosity
It’s counter-intuitive. They’ll never see it coming!
Actually, there’s a bit of science behind this one. (Note 1)
It seems that we may be hard-wired with something call “mirror neurons.” These neurons seem to want to respond to others just like they approach us. I yell at you and you automatically yell at me. I hit you and you hit me. The crowd buys some whiz-bang doo-dad and you and I buy it, too.
Intentionally meet greed with generosity.
Sure, it’s a long, hard road to travel. The approach may fail more than it succeeds.
Remember, it is subversion, that is, undermining a principle, not a frontal assault.
Model Contentment
Are you content?
Are you content with your life? Your stuff? Your relationships? Your career?
To continue our subversive approach, meet the appetites of lust with contentment.
“Oh…you got a new FancySwagMobile? I’m happy for you. Me? No, I’m happy with my…..”
“Oh…you’re tired of Ms. WasDreamyLastWeekbutSheDoesn’tLikeSpinach? Well, Ms. ___ and I are very happy.” (It helps is you and Mr/Ms _____ actually have a healthy relationship.)
CAVEAT: You must actually learn to be content with your circumstances to pull this one off. (Note: contentment is not complacency!)
Practice Peace
This means WAR!!!!
War and Peace?
No, you don’t have to read Tolstoy’s big book.
You do need the commitment it takes to fight a war in order to practice peace.
Think about that for a moment…
Effectively practicing peace requires the same commitment as fighting a war. It might even contribute to your untimely death. It just depends on whose freeway you’re standing.
Don’t take my word for it. Do a little digging on your own. History is filled with the ends of those who championed peace. Jesus, Gandhi, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are just three examples.
Remember, the goal is to be covert to subvert the social trends of greed, lust, and strife, in order to…
Revert
Okay…the idea of humanity reverting to a condition other than greed, lust, and strife is a stretch. It’s a stretch because our history is filled with those three conditions: greed, lust, and strife.
This argument is not so much for reversion as it is for conversion.
Of the many definitions of that very loaded word, here’s the one that I like the best:
…a change of attitude or viewpoint.
That’s a daunting task. Don’t bite it all off all at once. That’s the point of being covert to subvert in order torevert…convert people’s perspective with
- generosity,
- contentment, and
- peace.
Watch some football. Eat some rich and sweet foods. Then, get your game on and go confuse a few mirror neurons!
BTW, I’d love to hear your Black Friday stories and the lessons you’ve learned…as well as your feelings and perspective on this post.
Don’t forget to comment!
Blessings,
/jmt
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1. Lindstrom, Martin. buyology: truth and lies about why we buy. Doubleday: New York. 2008.
It’s that time of year, again. Lights, trees, wreaths, and other decorations are either up or on their way. Most of us are busy planning family gatherings, parties, travel, and gifts.
Many of you are, in some way, stressed by this season.
Whether you work in retail or are frantically shopping for the perfect gifts, the anxiety and stress can take you so far from the meaning of the celebration that it is simply toxic.
Between this writing and Christmas Day, we’ll explore some thoughts for the Christmas journey. A few of the coming posts are:
- 3 Lessons from Black Friday
- But…She’s Only a Child!
- Santa: Jolly and Judgmental?
- Why My Best Christmas Was a Day at Work
- 3 Facets of the Christmas Miracle
- Warning: X-mas May Have Lost It’s Christ!
I hope these posts will help you navigate the social obligations of Christmas with sufficient peace to actually consider the amazing work God has done, is doing, and will do for us, his beloved creation.
Subscribe by E-mail or to the RSS feed to be notified of each post.
Christmas shouldn’t be a toxic experience.
Blessings,
/jmt
I hope you enjoy your time on the site and that something in these pages encourages your journey along the Way of Jesus. All thoughts here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of others or of organizations with which I am affiliated. 
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