PrintIn my last entry I finished by writing,
I have come to believe that we rob life of much of its dynamic while ever we have to eliminate the mysterious and live life only in terms of the mechanical. It's the difference between enjoying the mystery of the kiss and 'floating on air' (and all that this includes) and being satisfied with a mechanical act that is devoid of any feeling and mystery. Which brings me to the kiss called Christmas.
Now let me explain what I mean by that term. In many ways the events and characters of that first Christmas belong to the "ordinary"; to that which can be explained in mere mechanical, everyday terms. Consider the following…..
- The ruling authority of the day issued a decree that a taxation registration be conducted right across the empire. Nothing special here.
- An engaged couple discovered that she was pregnant and the subsequent struggle with the personal and social implications of that reality.
- A group of astrologers were absorbed in their pursuit of the meaning of life and the knowledge of future events.
- A company of shepherds was going about their dull and boring duty of guarding sheep.
Apart from the confusion of the young couple who knew that there was no way he was the biological father of the child in her womb, all else is just a panorama of life - ordinary, everyday, mechanical life. Everything could be explained in humanistic, natural terms.
Then suddenly, the mysterious invaded the mechanical. The extra-ordinary overwhelmed the ordinary. The supernatural enveloped the natural. Or, to describe it in my terms, heaven kissed earth.
And nothing could ever be the same again!
Angels seem to take centre stage. The mysterious became a part of the life of those who featured in this drama. Gabriel visited Mary and announced the divine nature of her pregnancy. Another angel confronted Joseph and directed him to take Mary and the child and escape to Egypt. The shepherds had their evening shift invaded initially by one angel who made an announcement about a unique birth and its purpose. Then a whole bunch of these heavenly messengers became a choir and the glory of the Lord's presence surrounded them.
And nothing could ever be the same again!
However, the mysterious initially generated fear. Most often the angels began their message with the words, "Do not be afraid" or "Do not fear".I think that was the first lesson they learned at 'Angel School'! But most of those who initially feared the mysterious - the kiss - came to a place of trusting response in due course. So this sequence seems to continue to this very day.
Christmas becomes the kiss of God on His creation. He takes the initiative - even the risk, if you like - as the world of the Divine comes into the world of the natural and, in an embrace of grace, we are kissed by our Creator.
This divine initiative, however, required then and requires now a response. Put simply, a kiss requires two people to be involved if the kiss is to have any chance of success! How did the various characters in the Christmas drama respond?
I want to develop that in my next log entry.
