What Remains After Christmas
Christmas morning has finally arrived! The long wait is over. Empty boxes with wrapping paper still taped to the sides lie scattered around the Christmas tree. Children are busy trying out new toys, playing video games, balancing themselves on strange new riding machines, writing on their new crystal balls and reveling in this most magic of all days.
Parents, still in their pajamas, sleepily sip steaming cups of coffee and watch as their children run excitedly through the house, the joy of Christmas written all over their faces. The shopping, parties, and searching for just the right gift are all behind them now. They can sit back, enjoy the day, and while away the hours in leisure. Or can they?
Christmas Day is anything but a day of rest in most homes. The day is filled with an assortment of activities—old movies to watch, friends and loved ones to visit, games to play with the children, dinners to make and other events too numerous to count, while enjoyable, speed the day along like few others. The hours seem to gallop past us as morning turns into afternoon and afternoon, evening, and before we have had time to catch our breath, the children are all once again snug in their beds, but this time memories of Christmas dance in their heads. Parents wearily kiss each other good-night, exhausted after a fun-filled yet energy-draining day.
Another Christmas Day has come and gone. The magic-like quality of the month fades as the hour approaches midnight. The tree that has been the center of attention all month now stands strangely out of place, looking rather worn-out, as though the season’s activities have sucked the life out of it. In a few days the tree will either lie beside the curb for trash pick-up or be boxed up for the next year. Even the manger scene appears forlorn as knocked over shepherds and wise men lie forgotten, separated by sweaters and toys from paying homage to the newborn King.
Almost unnoticed is the crib lying beneath the tree and torn wrapping paper. The little baby Jesus has accidentally been dislodged from his straw strewn bed by an excited child reaching for another package. Now the Christ Child lies alone in the midst of a few broken ornaments and a misplaced dessert plate that someone has forgotten to put away.
The magic has given way to the everyday stuff of life, the mundane and boring that make up the greater part of human existence—bills to pay, sick children to care for, problems at work, health issues, the loss of loved ones and a plague of other daily ills.
I suppose it was the same on that night so long ago when the baby in Bethlehem first made his presence into the world. Soon the shepherds would go back to their flocks, the Magi would return to the east and Mary and Joseph would have to get on with the task of caring for their infant son. There would be diapers to change, runny noses to wipe clean, and never-ending work to do. The glory of that special night would slip into memory as the reality of life’s daily struggles edged once again into the present.
Still, Christmas does change some things—forever. Our attitude, for example, toward life’s daily struggles is now seen in a new light. Now hope, peace, joy and love accompany us every day of our lives. The memory of Christmas serves as a daily encouragement that we are never alone. Even in life’s greatest tragedies these heavenly gifts are with us, strengthening, comforting, and reassuring us.
Christmas is a season of hope and of goodwill toward all men. A church member once told me that the goodwill in Luke’s Gospel was intended only for Christian people. I think not. The baby born in a manger came into the world for all people, and his life has shown the world a better way to live, a more humane way to treat each other and a more selfless way to love. The child born in Bethlehem so many years ago was not selective in who he reached out to—beggars, tax-collectors, prostitutes, lepers and the like were all included in his circle of compassion and love.
Maybe that is why Christmas continues to be celebrated after all these years—Christmas gently reminds us that there is no greater earthly power than sacrificial love. Love is the gift that remains after Christmas.
