Christmas in Covid-time

 It is Christmas morning. Christmas in Covid-time.

I am aware that I have tried to slog out this strange season in the way that comes naturally to me, head-down, keeping emotions in check, waiting things out, hoping for the best but expecting less.

I suppose it's a kind of controlled numbness, designed to keep the edges from fraying, or to keep them from fraying over-much. Because fray they will.

But now it's Christmas, which ought to break into the numbness, stir up hope, restore a sense of . . . what? Mission?

I think that Joseph, the husband of Mary, might have been feeling a little numb himself. Mary, the woman to whom he was engaged to be married, was pregnant, and the baby certainly wasn't his. The Gospel According to Matthew tells us that Joseph "resolved to divorce her quietly."

He was a decent man, a merciful man. He was trying to spare Mary the shame and dishonor that would normally come upon a single woman in such circumstances. 

Everything on hold. Everything up in the air. 

But then . . . a fearfully powerful being, filled with light, a messenger from God, intervened. It was only a dream, perhaps. But this is what the being said:

"Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save the people from their sins."

To Mary, also, this same messenger, whose name was Gabriel, appeared. I suppose it nearly scared the girl to death! But the being said:

"Greetings, oh favored one, the Lord is with you! . . . And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

And not only Joseph and Mary, but also, a few shepherds in the fields on the night of the child's birth. They too must have used numbness as a kind of survival-strategy. It couldn't have been easy work. And prospects for advancement, nil. And the night, cold. There were no vacations, no sick-leave. Never a thought for getting an education, or building up a little nest egg, or moving to a new town, changing careers, starting over. There were only the sheep, and the stars, and perhaps a little fire to keep the cold at bay. 

But then, "the glory of the Lord shone all around." These boys were all most certainly awake, this was no dream. You and I can only guess what the "glory of the Lord" must have been like, but those boys were "filled with great fear," Luke tells us. And then the being, the messenger, spoke:

"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good new of great joy, that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

So for now, for this one night, there would be no more slogging through, keeping your head down, trying not to feel too much. Instead, there would be these boys running through the streets of Bethlehem, looking for a baby in a manger.

I don't know how to wrap this little Christmas meditation up. I don't have any profound advice for dealing with whatever you're dealing with. I'm not promising you mountaintop experiences or happiness every day. But angels showed up, and they were fearful, and they filled the sky, and they were celebrating! For they too had been waiting for this night. 

It happened. The child was born, grew in wisdom and stature, and well, I suppose you know the story. But it begins with a majestic promise of God fulfilled in a supernatural way, with His messengers bringing the news to an amazed young couple engaged to be married, and a few exhausted shepherds out in the fields.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. . . ." [Isaiah 9:2]

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Read also: Jesus is the Light of the Lockdown