Greetings,
The roads to Bethlehem were roads of hope and trust, of faith and charitableness. But Bethlehem is not a dead end; it is rather a place from which we move with greater goodwill, deeper faith, more permanent peace of mind and heart. Joseph F. Newton wrote:
Christmas is a prophetic day, looking not so much backward as forward. It belongs to an order of life not yet attained, to a religion not yet realized; to a coming, but distant, time which all prophets have foreseen, when men will be ruled by “the angels of our higher nature,” and justice will reign, and pity and joy will walk the common way of life.
The story of Bethlehem is not only about those who went to David’s city, but also about those who went away. The shepherds, after that glorious message hasten to the child’s manger. Then they return to their flocks, “glorifying and praising God for all...they had heard and seen.” The mystery of that night is not dispelled with the morning light, but continues to glow in their campfires for years to come. The wise men journey to Bethlehem, via Herod’s palace. Yet they heed God’s message in the dream and leave Bethlehem by a different way, a spiritual way; the old way of journeying through life was no longer satisfying. They leave Bethlehem finding a new and a better way to live. Even Mary and Joseph journey to Bethlehem fulfilling a plan and purpose set in motion long before, but they leave going in a very different direction, yet still following that purpose of God.
As we leave Bethlehem, for all we know for the last time, we ought to also leave by a different way, following the purposes of God. We ought to leave behind our old fears, old sorrows, old grudges, old sins. We ought to leave by a different way to continue our journey of life praising God and walking the Way of Christ, with Christ. In the days of this winter we shall need the friendly spirit of Christmas. In the days of this spring we shall need the hope of Christmas. In the days of this summer we shall need the joy of Christmas. And in the days of the fall, as the world is “dying” we shall need once more the vibrant life of Christmas.
Let us not pack up the true spirit of Christmas when we put away the decorations. It was Dickens again who reminds us that Christmas does not end on Christmas day. We have now come Epiphany. but it is not really the end of the Christmas season, it is the beginning of our being Light, Life and Truth. After his revelation, after his finding the Truth, Dickens says that Scrooge was better than his word. “He did it all and infinitely more; he became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City know, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world....and it was always said of him that he know how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!" That we truly know how to live the Truth. To give the gifts. To be the reality of love and blessing. That in the end we too might observe God bless us everyone.
Yours & His,
DED
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