I’m
about to treat you more of Jim Denison’s Christmas writings. He has his finger
on popular current events and sees their relationship to meditating about and
celebrating Christmas, that is, the birth of Jesus Christ into this world and,
hopefully, into your heart.
Do
listen to Kaylee Rodgers’ video. It is beautiful and, indeed, moving,
especially when you consider her handicap. Here goes:
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Why we rejoice when autistic girl sings 'Hallelujah'
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Kaylee Rodgers is
autistic. When she began school, she wouldn't talk or read in class. Now a video of her singing the lead in Leonard
Cohen's "Hallelujah" has gone viral. It's impossible to hear her
sing about Jesus' birth and not be moved by her gifts and God's grace.
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Another video making headlines is the reunion of
Matt and Bo Farrell. Matt plays point guard for Notre Dame; Bo serves with
the Army in Afghanistan. After last Monday's game, the stadium displayed a
video message from Bo to his little brother. Then Bo walked onto the court,
shocking Matt.
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Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey and his staff had been
planning the reunion since Bo was deployed in May. Matt told reporters,
"We don't ask for much for Christmas, so this is the best present I've
ever gotten."
It is impossible to watch either video without being moved
deeply. Why? And why are such messages especially welcome at Christmas?
Terrorism and God's Image
There's something in us that recoils at the conflict between
the tragedies of our day and the birth of the Prince of Peace. We watch the
manhunt for the Berlin truck terrorist and grieve for the victims of the
Mexico City explosion. We are shocked to learn that human traffickers are trapping more children into forced labor than ever. As we
read the news, we know instinctively that this world is not the way it was
meant to be. We were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27), and we
long to be restored to what God created us to be.
Justin Martyr observed that there are "seeds of
truth" implanted by God in each person. That's why every culture known
to history has worshiped God or the gods in some way. Even Star Wars
followers who tried unsuccessfully to have Jediism certified as a religion point to a reality beyond
themselves.
We rejoice when an autistic girl sings or separated brothers
are united. In them we sense a part of ourselves being made whole. But only
a part. When the video is over, the world comes rushing back like the tide,
crashing into our sandy souls and obliterating the serenity we felt.
Now we are left with a choice.
We can search for more inspirational videos to help us
escape the unrelenting drumbeat of calamity. We can bemoan the fallenness
of our world and our lives. Or we can find within us a Power greater than
the pain around us.
Henri Nouwen
In his classic Return of the Prodigal,
Henri Nouwen admits his "resistance to living a joyful life." He
explains: "Somehow I have become accustomed to living with sadness,
and so have lost the eyes to see the joy and the ears to hear the gladness
that belongs to God and which is to be found in the hidden corners of the
world." Father Nouwen speaks for many of us. We are so used to bad
news that we can stop looking for good news.
The Sum of It
A dear friend recently noted that the expression "God
is good" (Psalm 34:8) reminds us that wherever there is good, we find
God. The Bible tells us that "every perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow
due to change" (James 1:17). Nothing in our changing world affects the
unchanging character of God. If he is good, he is always good. And he is at
work wherever good is at work.
So be inspired (which literally means "to be breathed
into by the Spirit of God") by Kaylee Rodgers and the Farrell
brothers. Then ask God's Spirit to show you the good he brings into your
life today. Ask him to use you for good wherever he will. And the Lord who
became flesh at Christmas will become flesh again in you (1 Corinthians
12:27).
Is there a greater privilege than being the Bethlehem of
God?
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