Baxter has a hard time with Christmas. It is not that he’s a scrooge, but he is a rather rigid personality. You see, Christmas changes Baxter’s normally staid and predictable world. Things are different at this time of the year. We move furniture to make room for strange objects like Christmas trees. We add lights in the windows, decorations on table tops, shelves and counters. We play Christmas music and have more guests drop in. Baxter’s roost is remodeled and invaded, and he is at best confused by it all and at worst annoyed by it. He may hide under the bed to avoid the disruption until it’s gone, or he may attack the Christmas tree trying to drive the intruder away. In the end, Baxter goes into his Christmas funk until it all returns to normal after the New Year.
The first Christmas was quite a disruptive event if you think about it. Elizabeth felt her baby kick when her cousin visited with unexpected good news. Mary and Joseph had the plan for their life together turned around, and they had to travel away from home when the baby was due. The lights in the heavens set the shepherds and the magi wondering and wandering to find the child announced by these strange signs. Herod was disturbed to hear that another ruler was in his territory. No one felt comfortable with Christmas at first. It disturbed their settled lives and released new dynamics between God and humanity.
This is an uncomfortable Christmas for us as well. The world situation is very unsettled. Many people feel a low grade anxiety. What more can happen and where might it occur? Will we ever feel safe with each other again? Why can’t we just go back to the way things used to be?
Jesus’ birth changed the world of His day, and it is meant to continue to change our world today. Not like terrorism which generates fear, suspicion and desires for vengeance, but like a surprise birthday party, which brings people together unexpectedly to celebrate the goodness and blessings a human life can hold. Who would have thought that people cared that much to go to all the bother of setting up the surprise? Who could have imagined that God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son? But He did. This surprise will save us from any threat we face, if we trust enough to live by the message and Spirit it contains.
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom He favors!” This doesn’t mean that God is on our side to kill our enemies, but God is on the side of all who want to work for His goodness and love to become incarnate in our world. This desire drives all of us beyond our comfort zones. While our instinct may tell us to run and hide or to attack the stranger, God’s grace calls us to reach out by working to understand each other more, by caring for the needy who are driven by desperation, and by helping build relationships which turn strangers into friends. Such arrangements may disturb our narrow minds, our stingy hearts or our cliquish circles, but they will bring a promise of a different world where peace is possible.
Baxter waits for Christmas to be over, so that his life can return to normal. Hopefully, we wish for Christmas to never end, so that the new life in Christ will change what we think is normal.
