How can you explain or describe or quantify what Christmas means in our lives? Two men who were standing on Fifth Avenue at 57th Street in New York City during the Christmas rush, waiting for a red light.
One of them was irritated by the traffic. “This town is totally disorganized,” he growled. “Look at this traffic! It’s terrible! Something ought to be done about it.”
The other man was more philosophical. Thoughtfully he countered, “You know, it’s astounding, the romance of it. There was a baby born of peasant parents in a little out-of-the-way place halfway around the world from here. The parents had no money or social standing, yet two thousand years later that little baby creates a traffic jam on Fifth Avenue, one of the most sophisticated streets in the world. This irritates you. Instead it should fascinate you.”
It should fascinate us. A baby boy, born in an obscure village, his simple parents no more than refugees, and yet around the world during this special season of the year, millions of people are affected by his birth.
And why not? When we consider what really happened that first Christmas, we see why the whole world seems to be singing Christmas carols.
What is it that YOU believe about Christmas?
Which of the two men above do you tend to resemble more and more as the Advent season comes to an end?
