December 14, 2011 WBAS Seasonal Advent & Christmas, WBAS Topics Prayer, REL Seasons - Advent/Christmas
By: Kathy Hendricks
Each year, decorating the Christmas tree is an occasion for storytelling in our family. The ornaments are the trigger. Some date back to my childhood and before, so they offer an opportunity to relate stories about my parents and grandparents. Others were hand-made during the early years of our marriage. Ron was in the Coast Guard at the time and, on the nights he had to be at the base, I used my free time to paint or crochet bells, stars, and angels. Others were made by our children when they were in pre-school or accumulated during our family travels. Each ornament has a memory attached to it, ones that seem to grow warmer with each year. In some ways, our Christmas tree tells the story of our family.
The liturgies we celebrate during the season of Christmas tell our story as a Christian family. The late Henri Nouwen described it as the fulfillment of our greatest expectations, the birth of God into a world in agony. The simple birth of a child in a faraway time and place is a story some of us have heard hundreds of times, yet it never loses its poignancy. Humble shepherds from nearby fields and noted astrologers from exotic lands both come to pay homage to the Holy Child, Emmanuel – “God with us”. Could there be a better story to tell this and every Christmas?
As Advent passes its mid-point, the anticipation for Christmas grows. Some watch, with justifiable alarm, the ramping up of the season as one of commercialism, completely devoid of its original and sacred meaning. We can’t look to the media or the mall for our sacred stories, however. They are ones we tell around festive trees and holy tables where we come to share our story of hope and boundless joy. As you and your family go about your Christmas activities, may you re-discover that sacred story embedded in your own.
Bright Ideas
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Engage children in the re-telling of the Christmas story. Use the figures in a crèche to illustrate each part of the story as you read it aloud with your family or class.
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Download my Christmas Tree Blessing and use it as part of your home or class celebration.
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