A (SORT OF) CHRISTMAS STORY

By John Santosuosso

 

"And our eyes at last shall see him,

Through his own redeeming love;

For that Child so dear and gentle,

     Is our Lord in heav'n above;

     And he leads his children on

     To the place where he is gone

                       Cecil Alexander, " Once in Royal David's City"

"And man will live forever more because of Christmas Day."

                      Harry Bellafante, "Mary's Boy Child"

NOTE: The story below is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. A special thanks to the late Jean Shepherd for some helpful inspiration.

      It was over eighty years ago, but it seems like only yesterday, the first day of kindergarten. Under the compassionate supervision of our teacher, Miss Richardson, there we sat stringing beads and stacking blocks, unaware of the dramatic change that was taking place in our young lives. We were about to embark on a long journey, one filled with success for some but tragedy for others.

      Mary Langdon, however, sensed something, something she did not like. She made a bee line for the classroom door in a desperate attempt to exit, only to have it blocked by Miss Richardson and her mother. Sobbing, she was sent back to her beads. Gloria Gomez threw a miniature plastic Santa Claus across the room in protest, but it bounced harmlessly off the blackboard, changing nothing. In the far corner of the room Mark, the son of a locally prominent clergyman would periodically utter, "Here comes the boogey man." The rest of us were too confused to do much other than continue our bead stringing. We were about to be born into a new world, but the reality of that had not yet dawned upon us.

      Gradually we began to learn to adapt, one of the reasons we were here in the first place, though we did not yet understand that. By the time we made it to the first grade the girls had learned several games they could play at recess, and the boys had taken up football. The Frank M. North Elementary School failed to provide us with athletic equipment, but no matter, somebody's hat could serve as the ball. Bill Dempsey soon established himself as our quarterback, an honor and task that were his until high school graduation..

      The years passed by almost without notice. Some of us would graduate together. Others moved away. Tragically there were a couple of suicides, but there were success stories as well. Mark gave up boogeymen for a Ph.D. and joined the faculty of a very prestigious university. Regardless of the success any of us were fortunate enough to enjoy, none of us has made the journey without falling into some nasty potholes. My good friend "Ace" lost his loving wife to cancer. At least one classmate fell victim to alcoholism. Still, as a whole we managed to survive, at times even thrive. On occasion we reached the mountaintops. At other times we had to walk through the dark valleys. But there are those tasks that all of us are called to complete. Birth opens the door to opportunity, but that opportunity inevitably comes with a price.

      Some two thousand years ago there was a birth in Bethlehem that heralded a new beginning. Shepherds and magi alike would join the celebration of the event. However, later they would not be there. That birth led to a sometimes lonely dangerous journey that ended in death at Golgotha. Jesus encountered all of it and dared to overcome it, but it did not come easily. It came at a terrible price.

       Think about your own journey. As a child there may have been the joy of a first pet, and also the sorrow of the death of that little creature that gave you unconditional love. Do you recall the first time you fell in love, and the first you encountered rejection? Was there the joy of your first paying job and the pain of later losing it? Did love ones whom you adored later grow ill leaving you to wonder why? Still, we have marched on, called by the death and resurrection of our Lord to learn all and be all that God intended for us to be.

      Christmas day commemorates the birth of Jesus. It is also our day of birth into a journey with the one who went before us, a journey to a glory that will never end. Some will have less difficulty making the trip than others, but never forget our Lord will work without end to make certain no one is left behind. Have a blessed Christmas.