A Christmas Meditation

“It’s a preposterous story,” my friend stated.

“What is?” I asked.

“The Christmas story.”

“How so?”

“The same way fairy tales, action-adventures, and science fiction require you to suspend disbelief.”

“So, you think the Christmas story is unbelievable?”

“In a word, yes. Think about it. A generations-old prophecy. A perilous journey. No room in the inn. A virgin birth. Shepherds and angels. An astronomical anomaly. Three wealthy Magi. A dream warning. A jealous king. Escaping to Egypt. A slaughter of innocents. It has all the makings of fantasy, myth, or legend. It’s hard to believe, especially the part about the virgin birth. It sounds like Zeus being the father of Hercules. How many gods slept with humans anyhow?”

“That’s not the point, you know,” I answered meekly.

“I realize that. But it seems to me the Christmas story is as far-fetched as one of your wacky science-fiction stories. How are people who prefer provable facts supposed to believe it?”

“Faith, maybe,” I offered.

“Ah…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…” my friend mused.

“That’s what Paul wrote,” I confirmed.

“What about the sheer improbability of it all? It reminds me of a movie action hero surviving dozens of near-catastrophes only to prevail in the end. The odds are stacked against such a thing in real life.”

“Yet, sometimes the impossible happens. People survive plane crashes, shipwrecks, building collapses, avalanches, premature births, deadly diseases, horrible injuries. Who says a virgin birth and visions in a dream can’t happen? If there is a God, why can’t he short-circuit nature now and then?”

“That’s just it. You said, ‘if there is a God.’ What if there isn’t? What if he or she didn’t or doesn’t really work that way? What if the story is just a story?” my friend inquired.

“What if it is just a story? Something people tell each other once a year, read from the Gospel of Luke, or listen to Linus recite to the other Peanuts characters from time-to-time? Is that so bad? Peace on Earth, love for one another, hope for the future, joy for new beginnings. Are these things unbelievable too?”

“Sometimes it feels like they are. No matter what the story says, people believe what they want, do what they want, and in general act as if the story of the child in a manger doesn’t matter very much. Even if it is true, many people still treat it as a fantasy. Only a child would believe it, just as children often believe in Santa Claus or that there are real superheroes or wise kings.”

“I believed in King Arthur at one time. I also hoped there might be a real Superman or an Iron Man. But I grew up. I still believe in their ideals, though. A king ought to be just and noble. A Superman ought to tell the truth and use his powers for good. These stories made their mark on me. While they are not strictly true, the adventures of kings and knights, superheroes, and legendary lawmen of the old west taught me a lot about how to live. I learned that principles matter, and that it’s important to do the right thing, even if you don’t want to, even if it will put you at risk. There is always truth inside the “unbelievable.” Even if it was preposterous to think a man from another planet could come to Earth and help humans, the idea that he might choose to do so when he could stay out of human affairs was sort of the point…

I paused for a few seconds and continued… “The Christmas story is about the prince who chose to become like the rest of us – to intervene in human history, to love the unlovable, to heal the sick and brokenhearted, to show us a better way to live. It may be preposterous, but like many stories there is more to it than literal truth. So, I grant the point about the Christmas story sounding preposterous. I’ll even agree that we are not sure how God works, just as many of us are not sure God even exists. However, the story points to God, nevertheless. If we are his children, our stories are also his stories, and he lives through them in ways we can only begin to understand. The Christmas story draws our attention to concepts that are higher, ideas that transcend our existence. In another universe, perhaps the prince or princess turns out to be a dolphin, an eagle, a lion, a crystalline entity, or even a form of life we may dread encountering. But the ideals remain the same. The story can only hint at God – at ultimate reality. The Christmas story teaches us that it’s worth the effort to seek generosity, mercy, goodwill, forgiveness, redemption, justice, and peace.”

“Then maybe the kingdom of God is what we choose to make it,” my friend suggested.

“Possibly. Even if we put aside the preposterous, what’s left is more than enough to guide us.”