Thursday, November 20, 2008

Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward People

Is it so terrible that that's all i really want for Christmas? It's not even Thanksgiving yet, and i'm being asked what it is i want for Christmas. i've been told i am hard to shop for. i find that odd.

in some ways, i am like my father. He would prefer to buy things for himself, rather than tell people. The difference is that when i receive gifts that i didn't ask for, i'm generally thrilled. i love surprises. (the only exception would be the age-inappropriate gifts my mother would get me, but i suspect all mothers do that)

Certainly, i have received many gifts that i needed over the years, warm clothes, new pants, school supplies. But thruthfully, i have not wanted anything since i was in high school other than a guitar and some movies. i got a guitar 3 or 4 years ago for myself (since that was not on Santa's radar). All i really want at Christmas is to see all my friends and family, eat a lot, and buy nice surprises for other people. That and maybe go to the Christmas eve candlelight service at my home church. i missed that last year for the first time in 21 years and i've been thinking about it all year.

Many fundamentalists would argue that we're all missing the "reason for the season!" Many secular folks would argue that the "holiday season" is all about being kind to our neighbor and peace on earth. Yes, it is, and yes, it's about baby Jesus. But baby Jesus was one big surprise. Baby Jesus was God incarnate, God as human, God becoming part of a family. What could be a better celebration of that than spending time with family and surprising them with little gifts?

No comments: