CHRISTMAS — IS THAT ALL?
My son was four years old when, on the morning of December 25, far too early after the short night before, he finished unwrapping the last of his gifts. Then he turned to me, an anxious look in his eyes: “Is that all Christmas is?” Weeks of anticipation for an unwrapping session that lasted barely half an hour…
Children sometimes have expectations so big, desires so intense, that reality disappoints them, despite all our efforts to please them. Fortunately, they move on quickly!
And what about us adults? Are we really any different? On January 5, how many of us will say, each in our own way: “I was so looking forward to the Christmas break… and it went by so fast!”
In a sense, that’s normal. Even for those of us for whom Christmas has a spiritual dimension, we also nurture very legitimate earthly expectations: rest, special activities, family reunions, good meals, etc.
But on a deeper level, it is sometimes our expectations of God that risk being disappointed, especially when things seem to be going wrong in our lives. We may be tempted to say to ourselves: “God, is that all there is?”
For the mystery of the Incarnation celebrated at Christmas is a paradox: an event that surpasses our imagination (almighty God becomes incarnate!) and yet one that almost goes unnoticed (a newborn in a small Jewish village more than 2,000 years ago). In Jesus’ time, many did not believe, because they could not imagine that the all mighty God would reveal himself in the humble and gentle Jesus.
And it is precisely this paradox that makes our faith so beautiful: God is not with us only at certain moments, nor through occasional grand displays. He is there, always. Even in the thickness of our everyday lives, when there is nothing to celebrate.
Christmas, then, is not “just” December 25 and certainly not only, much to my little Henri’s disappointment, between 7:30am and 8:00am during the unwrapping of the gifts. For God is with us at every moment.
That said, this truth should not prevent us from savouring the joy of Christmas, when we will pause to celebrate together what gladdens our hearts.
Merry Christmas!
Jonathan Guilbault has been leading Novalis Publishing for more than ten years, the religious imprint of Bayard in Canada and the country’s main Catholic publisher. From offices in Montreal and Toronto, he oversees the French- and English-language sectors for books, magazines, services, and the sale of religious articles.
