by Susan Byorth
I love Christmas. My beloved traditions begin on December 1 and continue through the first of January.
The Christmas lights warm my heart and the carols bring familiar comfort. My heart jumps for joy when the Symphony plays “Sleigh Ride” with a CRACK of the whip at the perfect moment. The uplifting Halleluiah Chorus brings tears of joy and the hand bell choir settles my soul. This list continues on to include Pilgrim’s night of caroling and “Flying Signs” and then comes Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year. Our extended family goes bowling, then before a beautiful dinner, we gather to say grace, hold hands and offer individual gratitude’s — all 40 plus of us. Then we go to church. Twice. Catholic and Congregational — just to cover our bases. And finally, it’s Christmas Day and the traditions roll on…. It’s a cherished series of deeply comforting rituals.
So you can imagine my surprise when on Halloween night, as I dutifully watched the distant candy bowl for children who never came to our house, it occurred to me that this year, none of my beloved Christmas traditions were going to happen. COVID is the Grinch that stole Christmas. My Christmas. This was a shocking realization and I toggled between angry and sad, before emotionally landing squarely on “bewildered, weary and scared.”
It was a dilemma. If I believe that the backbone of Christmas is traditions, then will Christmas stand this year? Will there be a real Christmas in 2020? I had to peel back another layer of my spiritual onion to find the answer.
Weeks later I had a moment of clarity: I thought of Mary when Angel Gabriel stood before her and cheerfully said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” To which the Bible says, “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” If she was “greatly troubled” by his greeting, then I suggest she was likely bewildered when the Angel continued, “Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” Bewilderment is a key element of the Christmas story and yet Gabriel’s response was simple: “Do not be afraid.” Equally remarkable, was Mary’s immediate reply of acceptance: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
Later, when Mary and Joseph were in the town of David, “the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.” Mary and Joseph were undoubtedly, deeply weary, by the long journey, no vacancy signs and childbirth. Yet Mary did the same thing that mothers all over the world do every day. She carried on. She served the Lord her God.
Then the shepherds….my favorite characters…. guys out in a field watching sheep. Common workers doing an essential yet unappreciated task and BLAM out of the darkness “an Angel appeared and the glory of the Lord shone all around them, and they were terrified.” Terrified. And the Angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.”
So, welcome back to 2020, and it appears that we are snuggled up tight against the original Christmas story. Closer than we’d like to be. Uncomfortably close. This might just be the “real-deal Christmas” filled with bewilderment, weariness and fright. This might just be an authentic Christmas. In parallel, the Stewardship Drive comes at a great time of uncertainty in our church. And yet, the answers from the Christmas story can be heard in the stillness, in our aloneness. Lean in close to hear the words, “Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.”
— Susan Byorth is a member of Pilgrim Church