“That’s What Christmas is All About, Charlie Brown.” By Michael Guarducci, Fiat Ventures
Christmas Day
When do you start to feel the Christmas season? Is it when all of the mailmen bring the sacks of letters addressed to Santa Claus into the courtroom? Is it when Kevin McCallister’s family comes home, or when Buddy the elf’s father begins to sing & Santa’s sleigh takes flight? Is it after Ebenezer Scrooge’s or George Baily’s supernatural encounters force them to reevaluate their lives, or when, “in Whoville, they say, the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day”?
For many of us, that feeling probably hits when Charlie Brown desperately asks if anyone can tell him what Christmas is all about. This is when Linus begins reciting the second chapter of Luke, a portion of the gospel we will hear at Midnight Mass, this weekend. We all know the story of the Nativity; that of Mary & Joseph unable to find a room at the inn, of Jesus Christ’s birth in a manger, of angels appearing to the nearby shepherds, announcing that they will “find an infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger” and singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Lk 2: 12-14)
It is a beautiful story, made all the more so when delivered by the voice of an innocent child. But do we truly understand what this story means? Have the school plays, nativity scenes, lawn signs and bumper stickers just become another part of the kaleidoscope of holiday lights? Have the Holy Family simply become characters, like Frosty & Rudolph? Charles Dickens placed his doubts about the meaning of Christmas in the mind of Ebenezer Scrooge a century before Charles Schultz did the same with his beloved Peanuts. Have we made any progress, half a century later?
It is with these thoughts that I looked ahead to the readings this weekend, and was pleasantly surprised; if we attend Midnight mass on Christmas Eve, we will indeed hear the Nativity story, of a silent night, two thousand years ago. But if we attend mass on Christmas day, we will be met with a very different, perhaps surprising Gospel. Rather than the narratives of Matthew or Luke, we will hear the introduction of the Gospel according to John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed Him.” (Jn 1:1-18)
No mention of angels, a census, or a manger. But like the star which led the wise men & shepherds to the baby Jesus, John reveals the star which all of these ideas orbit, and reminds us of what we tend to forget; that God always is, always was, and always will be. Every December 25th, we celebrate the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth, but that was not the beginning of Christ, any more than Good Friday was the end.
Christmas is a magical, miraculous time of year. It is a time in which we are more kind to one another, generous, joyful and forgiving. It is a time of gratitude, a time of love for our family & friends, and charity towards those less fortunate. And after all of the shopping, the wrapping, the giving and the celebration, it is a time for quiet reflection and prayer on how far along the journey of life the past year has brought us.
But if God can exist outside of time, why then do we devote only one month or one day to these sentiments? If Scrooge & the Grinch could learn to keep Christmas in their hearts all year round, why then do we act as though it is not as important to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, every day of the year? The decorations, the lights, the sales; all of that is literally window dressing, and we can leave those distractions in December. But the rest of the year, let us shout; Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!
And that is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
