A few days ago, my husband, David, and I placed ornaments on our Christmas tree. This is a process that can’t be rushed – because most every ornament any of us keep through the years, has a story, a heart story.
As we were carefully placing these treasures, David asked: Which of them are the oldest?
We realized that we both have ornaments we can trace back to our parents or grandparents. This gold, sparkly ball was my grandmother’s. In 1990, we spent a rare Christmas together. She hadn’t had a Christmas tree in years – said she didn’t want one – but knowing it would probably be her last Christmas – I decided to buy her a tree and decorate it with a box of ornaments she had long tucked away.
I can still see her sitting in her favorite comfy chair in her darkened living room, with the colored lights casting a warm glow. Granny was like a content child again. It’s been over 30 years since she died, but every year when I place these sparkly, gold treasures on my tree, I remember that last Christmas, and I remember her, how close we were, and how much I will always love her.
Then there is my favorite ornament – one I made with a photo of my son before his first Christmas 30 years ago. Each year, I place this in the same spot on my tree – near the top center. The photo captures the pure delight of his spirit, the joy that we hope for every child at Christmas. Every time I look at this ornament, my heart melts and a part of me wishes I could go back in time to Pete’s first Christmas morning. I remember it like it was yesterday, as I imagine many of you remember the first Christmases of the children in your lives.
Our oldest Christmas ornaments, decorations and traditions tell the heart-stories of our lives. They tell us a lot about what’s most important in life – who we love and who loves us.
The audacious claim that the Gospel of John makes is that all of the love we are blessed to know in this life is not only God’s gift to us, it is a gift that originates at the beginning of time: a gift that is fully expressed in the life of Jesus, and a gift that is ours for eternity.
What does John say? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was present to God from the beginning. All things came into being through the Word, and apart from the Word nothing came into being.” Confusing language.
So, try hearing it this way, “In the beginning, was Love, and Love was with God, and Love was God. Love was present to God from the beginning. All things came into being through Love, and apart from Love nothing came into being.”
At Christmas we remember that the energy that animates the universe and the energy that animates our lives – that makes our lives worth living – is love. And that love finds its fullest expression in Jesus, born like every other child, the center of a loving parent’s heart. Jesus did not come into the world like some super-hero (with his own digital trading cards!), but as a vulnerable infant, in need of the love and care of his parents.
Often Christians say that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus. But, according to the writer of John’s gospel, it is even more than that. He says: “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” This means that Christmas is the day we can celebrate our birth and our identity as God’s own children. (David Lose)
In 2022, we are so beset by labeling, often by binary labeling. We are male or female; Black or White; straight or gay; Democrat or Republican, young or old. Christmas invites us to see ourselves and each other in a far deeper way – beyond any superficial labels.
As children of God, when we look at ourselves, when we tell the story of our lives, more important than the way we look, even more important than our mental or physical health, more important than mistakes we’ve made or our utter failures, and even more important than our successes and achievements, is our identity as God’s beloveds, an identity that can ground, encourage, and inspire us especially at the most difficult times in our lives. As God’s children, we can always turn to God when we need help and be assured of God’s care.
Each of us is so much more than any of the labels we use for ourselves or others. Each is of us is so much more than whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. We need not be defined by the categories the world offers or the problems we face. (David Lose)
Instead, as God’s children, we hold infinite worth in God’s eyes. Created in the image and likeness of God, we are deserving of love and respect. And we are needed to carry on the family business- the true purpose of our lives- the care and healing of our world and all who are in it, especially where there is pain and struggle.
Now imagine God’s Christmas tree with an ornament that has a picture of you in a place of honor. Just as each of the oldest and most favorite ornaments on your tree conjure feelings of warmth and love, take heart – our God, our Divine Parent, holds you now and always with an even greater love. Amen.