We are rightly reminded at Christmas to keep in mind the reason for the season, or the reality that we are celebrating. A less-considered but related angle is that our very celebrating can and should change us. Or in any case it can dispose us for what often escapes our notice: a Christmas gift that God really does want to give us.
Just what this gift is, what form it takes, is difficult to imagine. Some years ago I read a few lines from Josef Pieper that forever changed my view of festivity itself, and the major festivities in the year—especially Christmas. I am still not sure just how to act on his insight, but this much is clear to me. The gift of Christmas is both something that happened two thousand years ago and something that can and should happen in my heart today.
And our celebration of Christmas is precisely about disposing ourselves for this gift in our hearts. There is no mathematical formula here for how it works. But again, this much I know: if I am looking for the gift, I am much more likely to discover it and be able to receive it.
And so I set forth in this celebration of Christmas, even in the midst of discouragement, troubles, and travails. For I believe that what we celebrate really happened. And therefore, I also believe that God has a gift for me and my loved ones today, something beyond our imagining. His gifts always far exceed anything that might have been expected or even hoped for. Have not the world around us, and our own lives, made this evident?
It is both my wish and my earnest prayer that we all discover what God so wants to give us, in and through our Christmas celebration, even despite all its shortcomings and inadequacies. For does He not excel in making the most unlikely into the most supernal?
I close with those words of Pieper, sincerely wishing to all the astounding gift he sketches here:
“From time immemorial, this very thing has always been considered the true, the immanent fruit of all great festivals… Men are swept away from the here and now to utterly tranquil contemplation of the ground of existence; to happiness, as in absorption in beloved eyes.”
For what more merry than this might we hope? A very MERRY Christmas to all. ~ ~ ~
Here are a few offerings to aid your celebration:
SING CAROLS TOGETHER: Sofia has prepared a printable booklet and audio tracks to remind you of the Carols.
LISTEN TO OUR AUDIO CHRISTMAS STORIES: John has recorded a number of our favorites, available at (open) Spotify so you can listen all together!
READ ALOUD TOGETHER: Sofia has a List of our favorite books/stories to read aloud in the Christmas season.
Finally, our PODCAST Five Ideas for a Household Christmas might be helpful in the coming days.
The fuller quotation from Josef Pieper can be found HERE.
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
