In Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, someone might blurt out that the joyful song rising up from Whoville on Christmas morning makes the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes that day and he makes everything right.
Then there’s A Christmas Story, and Ralphie really does get his Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot, range model air rifle…
Well, here’s your spoiler alert for Christmas!
This is an amazing time of year. Beautiful glitter and lights surround us. It seems at times like there’s magic in the air as we discover the perfect gift for that special someone. People seem a little friendlier, a little warmer. It’s a time of little miracles, if you watch for them.
We hope for special moments with our family and friends, like the gathering at George Bailey’s home. We steal a couple of hours to sit in front of the TV and watch one of those great movies, the old classics and the newer favorites.
We plan special meals, wrap gifts, and share stories of Christmases past. We find ourselves considering those who may be hungry on Christmas or may not have presents under the tree, and we share a little of what we have to make a difference for someone we’ve never met.
For many people, December 26 will bring back the ordinary: another day at work or a day of shopping to spend the gift cards and return the odd-sized sweater. Dinners are leftovers, often for a few days, and one of these days the tree has to come down and the decorations need to be packed away for next year.
But for those who believe in the love of Jesus Christ, Christmas doesn’t end there. There’s a different ending to the story than a trashcan full of used wrapping paper. In fact, it doesn’t end there at all.
In the first chapter of the gospel according to Saint John, we are promised that, “to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God;” we are reborn with a birth that comes from the Spirit of God.
Christmas is the promise of a God who loves this world and all of the people who live in it. It is the fulfillment of God’s hope for this world in which every man, woman and child will know of God’s great and unconditional love for him or her.
Christmas isn’t a single day of the year, but a daily outpouring of God’s life-giving grace. Day by day, moment-by-moment, this world is being transformed. Those little miracles show up more often. The warmth and the glow of Christmas linger long into the months ahead.
So here’s your final warning, the last spoiler alert. Stop reading here if you don’t want to know how the story ends… but if you really want to know, it turns out that God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him!