We had an unexpected guest at
our table yesterday:
Annie the Cat.
Used to, when the family
came, Annie would hide the whole time.
Recently, she’s become more
adventurous and been more of a presence.
Yesterday, she firmly planted
herself in a dining room chair and
Did not move when we all convened
in the dining room for dessert.
The whole family gathered
round the table,
And there was Annie,
Asleep in my seat,
Vaguely listening to family
conversation,
As happy as she could be.
…
Yesterday, Christians
gathered worldwide on the eve of this Christmas Day.
We celebrated the birth of
baby Jesus
And talked of the joy of
Christ.
I sang of Mother Mary’s labor
of love,
And my dad reflected on the
presence of Christ that
Is the ultimate present to
humankind.
Meanwhile, I silently agonized
over the reality that so much of Christmas is a lie.
Theologically, Jesus wasn’t
born on December 25 and the wisemen didn’t appear to Jesus at the stable.
Non-theologically, we
indoctrinate ourselves on songs of fictional characters
And hang our hats on a belief
in a Santa Claus who doesn’t even visit the least of these.
We confuse story with reality
and mesh it all together into one big, collective lie.
No wonder people have a hard
time believing in God.
And no wonder people have a
hard time holding to the hope of Jesus.
…
And yet.
There Annie was at the table.
A teenage mother from an
unwanted pregnancy
Who found her way to our
house
Where we took her in and gave
her her best life.
And here we are on Christmas
Day,
Remembering the birth of a
real person
Born to a teenage mother
through an unwanted pregnancy,
Whose story found its way to
our hearts
Where we took it in and can
now live our best lives…
Dear God: There’s a lot we
don’t know. But this much is true: Jesus was real. And His life and love can live within us and give us
unexplainable hope. Jesus was real. And His life and love can compel us to make
room at the table for everyone. Help us to make room for everyone. Amen.
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