The rest of Christmas

by Monsignor Thomas J. McSweeney

What will you be doing December 26?

You have a number of options. You might be returning unwanted presents to stores or putting together newly-received gadgets. You could be cleaning up crushed tinsel and pine needles or removing eggnog stains from the carpet. And you will probably be returning to work, exhausted but relieved that you made it through another Christmas.

Too often for too many people, Christmas Day and the weeks leading up to it have become a burden. And that’s a shame. It’s not that we have forgotten that Christmas is meant to be a time of celebration. We have lost track of just what we should be celebrating. Elements that could contribute to the spirit of Christmas are too easily transformed into something as bright and shiny as a Christmas tree ball - and just as hollow. The gift-giving tradition had its origins in the gold, frankincense and myrrh brought by wise men to a Baby. But today, we expect to give and to get: offerings turn into acquisitions rather than tokens of love and appreciation.

And how could a vision of the Holy Family rejoicing in their first moments together help but encourage us to share this sacred time with loved ones? Still we tend to get caught up with making every get-together picture-perfect, or with socializing as an act of obligation.

What is, perhaps, truly marvelous is how often the essential joy of the holy day manages to reveal itself any way. Maybe your aunt is retelling a family story you have heard too many times before. But this time your youngest laughs out loud and for a moment your spirit is light. Maybe a card with a warm note arrives from a neighbor who has not spoken to you in years . . . or you look out the kitchen window while you are washing the dishes and see a star that dazzles and reminds you of one that appeared two thousand years ago.

Maybe we just need to recall that what we are really celebrating is the same thing that the angels and shepherds and Magi were: "To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:11) So how should we celebrate? First and last, by thinking and praying and reminding others about the newborn Child who bore in his tiny hands the gift of eternity.

This time of year, we hear holiday carols so often we may not hear them at all. One of them, "Joy to the World," has a verse that describes the heart of Christmas which can beat in us only because it first beat in the heart of Another.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders and wonders of His love.

Merry December 25 to you - and December 26, too.

For a free copy of the Christopher News Note, "Seeing As God Sees", write to The Christophers, 12 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017.