Eleanor Deckert
They keep coming to my mind: opposites. Did you ever notice how many opposites are within the Christmas Story as recorded in Matthew and Luke?
• The vast Roman Empire and the tiny village of Bethlehem
• The powerful Emperor and the tiny baby.
• The angel host and the army with swords drawn.
• The Virgin's purity and Herod's despicable lifestyle.
• Mary's "yes" and the inn keeper's "no."
• "Home" to Bethlehem and the homelessness of the Holy Family running for their lives into the night desert.
• The feasting and the poverty.
• The humble shepherds and the splendid Magi.
Maybe you can think of more.And then I look around at how things are today and see more opposites. Oh, wait. It is almost the same list!
We feast while others are hungry. Some say "yes" to the Christ Child and some say "no." We fear and we hope.
We give and we have nothing to give.It seems an amazing tangle, too complex to make any sense of it.
Maybe I'll just walk away and not try to straighten out what I, myself believe.But, look again. It's in the words of the song, "Let heaven and nature sing!"
What are the two opposites we most often see when we look at the baby we celebrate: the star and the straw. He Himself is the answer. The opposites of "heaven and earth" of spiritual reality and physical reality are combined in this strange and awesome person, moment and idea.
What if "holy" and "humble" were together? What would happen if the Invisible became visible? If Infinite entered this finite world? If the One we all search for walked among us?Keep your eyes open.
Pause and notice opposites. It seems to me that there is a puzzle here worth pondering.