Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Take a look outside. Do you see any Christmas trees out at the curb yet? Some people take down all their decorations right away, while others wait until Epiphany. Personally, I dread the tedious process of disassembling the tree and trying to fit the tangle of lights and ornaments back into their boxes.
Every year we think that we should cut back, decorate less, and get rid of some of these things. But when we look at our decorations, we remember the little hands that made them or the Christmas we received them or the many blessed years they have adorned our home. All the knick-knacks we have saved over the years are really only so much stuff, no more valuable than the dying tree out by the street. But the memories they hold are precious.
What did Mary save from her first Christmas? Not relics of Jesus. Not a lock of his hair. Not the swaddling cloths. These things are of no value. Not even the stable where Jesus was born or the place where He lay have any special value, even though today they are overlaid with gold.
What Mary wrapped up after Christmas she kept in her heart, not a box. She kept the memory of God’s Words to her – of His promises – of His faithfulness. She did not save the surface things of Christmas, but the root, the radical heart of what God had done.
What will you save from this Christmas? When all is packed away for another year, what will you still keep in your heart?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, let me remember Your love. When celebrations give way to sorrow, and days of worry and trouble come, let me remember Your love that gave me the greatest gift of all. Amen.
|
