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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