THE WONDER OF IT ALL
Photo courtesy of Sam Headland
Two men were standing on the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street in New York, observing the Christmas rush. One man complained, “I hate Christmas. I’m sick of this traffic and all these crowds.”
The other replied. “I find it astounding. A baby was born to two peasants in an obscure village halfway around the world. The parents had no money, yet two thousand years later, that baby creates a traffic jam on 5th Avenue, one of the most sophisticated streets on earth. This irritates you? It ought to fascinate you!”
Unquestionably, the Christmas season is crammed with chaos—maxed-out credit cards, rude relatives, crowds and more crowds. Holiday hassles could dampen your Christmas spirit quicker than saying, “Ho, ho, ho.” But before we allow Christmas chaos to spoil our eggnog, ponder the words of the second man and contemplate the big picture. It really is fascinating.
Consider the chaos of the first Christmas. Besides facing the scorn of their village, Mary and Joseph endured a five-day journey to Bethlehem, with pregnant Mary bouncing on a donkey. When they arrived, all the hotels were flashing “no vacancy” signs. Hotels.com had lost their reservation. So God's Son was "born in a barn".
Later that night, a bunch of smelly shepherds ventured from the hills—enough to scare the holiness out of even the most spiritually hardy. Then throw in the “little drummer boy.” Who needs some kid pounding on a drum, right after you've given birth? (Okay, I know that’s not in the Bible). Then the family fled to Egypt, barely escaping the swords of Roman soldiers. Sure puts our whining over Christmas traffic in perspective.
When we feel overwhelmed by the chaos of Christmas, take a deep breath, look up, and thank God for the babe in the manger, born half-way around the world, who creates traffic jams two-thousand years later!
Ponder:
What aspect of the holidays pushes your buttons like the first man in our story?
How does meditating on Joseph and Mary’s story help restore your Christmas spirit?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Luke 2:1-21.
Father, thank you for the joys and chaos of the Christmas season. Even in the midst of holiday stress, help me find your perfect peace.
(My Christmas devotional, The Perfect Gift, is available through Our Daily Bread, or you can order here: https://a.co/d/7Ho1vqm )