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Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Saturday, December 20, 2014

The Face of Christmas

Advent and Christmas have a face
no, not that obnoxiously handsome northern European face
most of us saw in our Sunday School classes growing up

but this season of expectation and fulfillment has a face
indeed many faces

the face of the season is the tired store clerk who has been yelled at  by one too many customers
(one is too many)
It is the face of the street person sitting on the street corner with the sign
“hungry veteran”
It is the face of the harried mother
And the anxious worker who wonders if her job will still be there next year
(after the CEO gets his or her billion dollar bonus)

The face of Christmas is the pinched, angry, hateful face of the church goer who finds
People like ‘them’ distasteful (lazy moochers)

It is the face of the poor couple pulling up to the general hospital
to have a child they didn’t expect (and for whom they have no insurance)

it is the face of the young black man who is frightened when he sees a police car drive by
it is the face of the girl who is being followed by young men who threaten her with rape

so many faces
so much hurt and fear
pain and poverty

this is the face of Christmas

But the face of Christmas is also the person who works in the food bank
And donates generously to the local clothing drive
The face of Christmas is the person who takes a hurting neighbor a warm meal
The face of Christmas is the one with the smile on it for the person of
Another culture or creed

The face of Christmas is smudged with dirt from cutting and stacking fire wood
And dressing out half an elk for a hungry neighbor
The face of Christmas is the tired nurse who still smiles when her rather impatient patient (me)
Grumbles

The face of Christmas is hope,
A sliver of light
Shining in the midst of so much darkness

The first Christmas was truly a mixture of joy and pain
And so it continues
But thank God for that seed of joy
That comes from the heart of men and women
Who have found that love, that hope, that joy, that peace
That can only be found….. within

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