Christmas?

For one of my classes I had to read Shadowlands by William Nicholson, a play about how C. S. Lewis meets, marries, and falls in love with Joy Davidman. I am posting a delightful interchange on the subject of Christmas between Lewis and his friends.

Christopher Riley: What I resent about Christmas is the general presumption of good will. I feel no good will towards my fellow men. I feel ill will.

C. S. Lewis: It's got nothing to do with how you feel, Christopher. Feelings are far too unreliable.

Riley: Maybe so, Jack, but they're very close to me. I'm very attached to my feelings. I won't hear a word against them. They're easily hurt.

Harrington: I'm afraid Christmas is something of a lost cause, Jack.

Lewis: That depends on how it's presented. If you tell people it's about peace in the world, and being kind to the poor and needy, then naturally nobody listens.

Riley: Aha! the archcommunicator in action! Give us the sales pitch, Jack!

Lewis: "Virgin has sex with Omnipotent Alien--Gives birth to God."

Riley: I've always thought the incarnation proves that God has a severely limited intellect. Who'd choose, voluntarily, to be human, when you have the option of being safely divine?

Lewis: Think of the magic, Christopher. The birth of a helpless, squealing creature that is also God. An all powerful baby. Doesn't that satisfy your taste for the peculiar? It's the coming of new life in the heart of winter, when all the land is dead. The snow falls, and the trees are bare. All but one tree, which bears fruit. That's real magic.

In my opinion, those of us who celebrate Christmas are doing so in vain, because of the ways in which we celebrate. The character of Lewis touches on what we lose sight of: the wonder of the incarnation, God in His glory humbling Himself to become human.

Maybe it's because we tend to do one of two things to concepts we can't understand: Explain them away, or don't think about them at all.

Sometimes we pay lipservice to "the true meaning of Christmas." We watch "Charlie Brown Christmas" and remind ourselves that Christmas is not about lights, trees, and Santa, but that it's about a baby born in Bethlehem. But even that does not go far enough!

Last night my dorm mom said, "What are all the things you associate with Christmas? If all those things weren't there, what would it be like?" Many girls said, "Sad, depressing, etc." But she was trying to get us to realize that all the things we focus on at Christmastime are in the way of what we really need to see.

We spend this time stressing more than worshiping. I find that my mind is more preoccupied with "What am I going to give so-and-so?" rather than meditating on the beauty of Emmanuel, God with us. Coming at the fullness of time to redeem.

That's real magic.