December 23, 2014

• Christmas

  I was thinking today of Christmas as a time of unity.  First, unity among Christians.  Then unity with others.  Hannakuh and Kwanzaa are celebrated during that time, and everybody seems to celebrate the New Year, even atheists.  I usually tell people Merry Christmas, as we live in an area where most people say they are Christians.  If you don't know what else to say, you can always say "Happy Holidays."

  I said that most people in our area say they are Christians.  There shouldn't be, but there often is a difference between so-called Christians, and those who really are followers of Jesus.  Even those of us who do follow Jesus, often stray off His path, so don't expect Christians to be perfect.  We aren't.  We would like to be, we have good intentions, but we often fail.  The good thing is that when we ask him to forgive us, He does, and gets us back on track again.

  I remember when we were in Africa.  Once we had unexpected guests on Christmas Day.  It was a couple who were staying with the Catholic priest to fix his well.  They were from Bulgaria.  The husband was the head of the Communist party in his county back home.  (This was in 1969,)  When he was out of the room the wife told us that her husband didn't believe in God, but she did.  They brought presents for our children, and chocolates for us.  They spoke French but no Sango, and no English, and of course, we didn't understand their language.  Our French was very poor, and their's wasn't much better, so we tried to converse, but mostly we just sat and smiled at each other.  Christian missionaries, and Bulgarian Communists on Christmas Day in the middle of Africa celebrating and enjoying each other's company.  It felt a little weird, but it also felt good.

  • 3:02 pm
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