The Ultimate Tree

Trees have always been a big deal in the world and throughout history.  In the ancient world and throughout all of the religions, trees were highly symbolic.  They often represented what we call the “axis mundi” - the center of the world, the connection between heaven and earth.  So perhaps it is fitting that most families have a tree on display in their home during this Christmas season.  And under the tree, gifts.  You see, Christmas is really the celebration of the coming of the Son of God into this world, but not simply to have God show up, but to re-connect heaven and earth.  And under this ultimate “tree” (the cross) is the ultimate present: the salvation of God through Christ!!  

Sometimes, the story of God leaks out in our everyday routines, like putting up a Christmas tree to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Sometimes, we catch glimpses of God’s story even in the simplest of things…like a tree.

The Manger Scene

One of Augustine’s Christmas sermons back in the 4th century described the manger scene so poignantly, it is worth quoting:

“See…what God has become for you.  Take to heart the lesson of this great humility, though the teacher of it is still without speech.  Once, in Paradise, you were so eloquent that you gave a name to every living being; but your Creator, because of you, lay speechless, and did not even call his mother by her name.  You, finding yourself in a boundless estate of fruitful groves, destroyed yourself by having no regard for obedience.  He, obedient, came as a mortal man to a poor, tiny lodging that by dying He might seek the return of him who had died.”

Comfort for the Anxious

I was standing in line recently at Panera Bread during lunch time.  It was crowded, noisy, the lines were long, and people were bumping into each other.  It was a little microcosm of our world.  As I stood there fretting about how long things were taking, I happened to look over to see a mom and her infant child standing just behind me.  There in the midst of the crowds, noise and chaos was this picture of something almost unimaginable - a sleeping, quiet, content little baby, unfazed by the velocity of life and the anxieties that accompany it.  

What a picture of Christmas for all of us who feel the weight of anxiety, frustration, and even depression.  Christ came into this anxious world to bring calm and comfort to a sin-laden people preoccupied with everything but God.  Joy to the world!