Keep it Simple

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Originally Published in the Port Aransas South Jetty Newspaper

Christmas, which Christians celebrate on December 25, just on the heels of the winter solstice, is a simple celebration of Emmanuel which means “God with us.” It is a celebration of the eternal Christ/Son of God/Word of God, the second person of the Trinity putting on flesh and being born of Mary. That’s at the core of what Christmas about, anyway. Often times lots of other things are packed around it, and from time to time something comes crashing across our path that returns us to the meaning of Christmas: The Grinch can take away all the presents, and all the Whos down in Whoville will still gather around in a circle and sing. A hurricane can run through our town and leave us wondering which way is up for months, and still we will gather to sing “Silent Night” by candlelight. Every available bed in town may be occupied, and still, Mary will find a humble dwelling to give birth to God among animals and feed in an overlooked village.

It takes more trust than I can normally muster to return to the simplicity of Christmas. I usually
buy in to all the other things that happen around this time of year: sales and lights and parties; reindeer and egg nog and sweaters. It’s all good, seasonal fun that I enjoy as much as the next person, but the simplicity of God dwelling here among us ultimately requires no fanfare. Sometimes we may even miss out on God’s presence, being too busy going about creating the perfect experience, however we imagine that experience needs to be. Maybe the Grinches and hurricanes can serve as (painful) reminders of what’s most important; maybe an unscheduled birth in a barn with no one but angels and shepherds singing  is what we need to remind us what is of the greatest value in our lives—they point us back to the meaning, and remind us who we really are.

The experiencing God’s Incarnation, God among us, requires nothing from us in order for it to happen, just that we are awake enough to pay attention, and trust that God is here. We don’t make Christmas happen, like a magic trick with a puff of smoke and then God appears. Not even with right words or prayers or devotion as if God’s love might be bought by good behavior. God with us means that God is here with us by God’s own doing; God is Incarnate among us. Not just in a historical reenactment, in which we try to get the color of Mary’s veil just right. (Though I do love seeing children learn the nativity story!) God is here in the simple presence of the person near to you. The person you love, or the person you don’t know, or the person you are just getting to know.

Christmas is about trusting that God is God, and God is here. We receive the gift of God’s presence: the Reality that God is here with us. Christmas reorients us to remember that God is the one who comes to us to show us love in simple, unexpected ways, often with no fanfare, sometimes even with no wrapped gifts, nor familiar home.



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