The Nativity of the Lord - Christmas Eve
Christmas
is a time for stories, right?
Each
and every year,
we
hear stories about Rudolph and Frosty and the Grinch.
Most
important of all,
we
hear the story of Mary and Joseph
and
the birth of the baby Jesus.
I
wrote a story myself many Christmases ago,
and
told it right here a few years back—
but
when someone asked me about it the other day,
I
figured it might be time to tell that story again.
Boy
and girls:
How
many of you have a Christmas tree at home?
Just
as I suspected!
And
how many of you have those trees hanging upside down?
Just
as I suspected again!
I’m
sure that sounds like a pretty silly question.
But
did you know that, once upon a time,
that’s
how people decorated for Christmas—
with
an evergreen tree hanging upside down from the ceiling?
Let
me read you a little story
about
one of those first Christmas trees…
Long, long ago,
in
a land far, far away,
there
was a big and beautiful forest
very
near to a tiny village.
And growing beside each other in that forest
were
three different trees:
there
was Ollie, the oak tree,
whose
wood was very strong;
there
was Alice, the apple tree,
whose
fruit was very sweet;
and
there was Peter, the pine tree,
who
was youngest of them all.
The three trees became good friends
since
they spent all of their time together.
But Peter always felt unimportant next to the
others.
It was hard enough to be younger and shorter.
But Peter’s wood was soft,
not
hard and strong like Ollie’s
And Peter’s branches didn’t produce any fruit
like
Alice’s delicious apples.
Peter was sure he had a purpose…
…he
just wasn’t sure what that purpose might be.
Now, in that tiny village there lived a little boy
Now, in that tiny village there lived a little boy
who
often played among the trees of the forest.
He loved to climb in Ollie’s strong branches.
He loved to eat Alice’s sweet apples.
And he loved to lie down under Peter’s thick,
green branches,
where
he would spend hour after hour
dreaming
fantastic dreams
and
asking life-sized questions.
His mother and father
had
told him there was a God
who
had made this vast and wonderful world
and
everything in it.
But the boy wanted to know more
about
this God he could not see.
So the boy asked Ollie what he thought about
God.
“This God must be very strong,” replied the
mighty oak tree,
“stronger
than anyone or anything else,
if
he can set up the mountains
and
dig out a place for the sea.”
Then the boy asked Alice what she thought about God.
Then the boy asked Alice what she thought about God.
“This God must be very rich,” replied the fruitful
apple tree,
“richer
than anyone or anything else,
if
he can provide enough food
for
every hungry creature.”
Finally, the boy asked Peter what he thought about
God.
“I’m not really sure,” said the pine tree.
Looking at Peter’s green branches
pointing
straight up like an arrow to the sky,
the boy said,
“All
I know is that this God must be very far away—
way
up in heaven above everyone and everything else—
if
he can watch over the whole world.
That must be why no one has ever seen God.”
And the little boy would lie there
imagining
journeys to distant lands
where
he would look for people who could tell him
if
God were indeed very strong,
or
very rich,
or
very far away.
And that’s just what the little boy did.
When he got older,
he
said good-bye to his mother and father
and
to his friends in the forest,
promising
them all that he would come back some day
and
tell them about everything
he
had seen and learned.
So Ollie, Alice, and Peter waited.
And they waited.
And they waited some more.
And after a few years
the
little boy—now a fully-grown man—
came
back to the tiny village where he has been born.
He called together all the people to the center of
town
because
he had some wonderful news to tell them.
He had met some people who could tell him about God.
Now, the three trees could see
that
there was much excitement in the village,
but
they could not hear a single word
of
what their old friend was saying.
It wasn’t long, though, before they saw him
It wasn’t long, though, before they saw him
coming
into the forest carrying a saw.
He walked up to Ollie and said,
“I
want to build a house for God—called a church.
But I need wood to build it.
Oak tree, may I have some of your strong branches?”
“Why yes, my friend,” said Ollie.
“I want to help you build a strong house for God.”
When the church was finished,
the
now-grown boy came back to the forest,
carrying
a huge basket.
He walked up to Alice and said,
“I
want to have a great festival for God—called Christmas.
But I need food for the feast.
Apple tree, may I have some of your sweet fruit?”
“Why yes, my friend,” said Alice.
“I want to help you have a rich celebration for
God.”
And when all else was ready for the festival,
And when all else was ready for the festival,
their
friend returned to the forest one more time,
but
this time he was carrying an axe.
He walked up to Peter and said,
“I
want to decorate God’s house for the great feast.
I want to share with everyone the amazing story I
have heard,
but
I’m going to need your help—
even
more than I needed Ollie and Alice.
Pine tree, may I cut you down
and
bring you into the church for Christmas?”
Peter was very much afraid,
but
he mustered up all his courage
and
managed to answer, “Yes, my dear friend:
I
want to help you point people to God.”
Afraid that the axe might hurt a bit,
Peter
closed his eyes real tight
but
by the time he opened them again
he
had already been brought inside.
“I have a very special place for you, my friend,”
said the boy.
And with that,
And with that,
he tied a rope around Peter’s little
trunk
and
raised him—upside down—
to
the rafters made from Ollie’s branches,
hanging
high above the floor of the church.
“I don’t understand,” said Peter,
now
more confused and dizzy than afraid.
“I remember when you were little,
how
you would lie down
and
dream beneath my green branches
and
think about how they pointed like an arrow
straight
to God up high in heaven.
What have you learned, my friend,
that
you now need to hang me upside down?”
“I nearly forgot to tell you,” said the boy.
“I used to think that God
“I used to think that God
was
stronger than anything—and that’s true.
But Christmas has taught me
that
that same God chose to be weak—
born
as a little baby boy, just like I used to be,
who
needed a mother and father to care for him.
“I also used to think that God
was
richer than anyone—and that’s true.
But Christmas has taught me
that
that same God chose to be poor—
born
in a tiny village, just like mine,
with
only a manger for his first bed.
“And I used to think that God
lived
far away in heaven, watching over the whole world—
and
that’s true, too.
But Christmas as taught me
that
that God chose to come live with us
right
here on earth.
“And that’s why I’ve hung you upside down, little
pine tree:
to
point like an arrow, for all people to see—
pointing
to the wonderful news that because of his love
God
has come down from heaven
to
be very close to us.”
Now Peter understood the great excitement
he
has seen spreading throughout the village
and
the reason for this grand celebration called Christmas.
No longer feeling unimportant,
no
longer afraid or confused,
he
proudly hung up there, high in the rafters.
Peter has finally found his purpose:
it
was to be a Christmas tree,
helping
everyone who would see him to remember
the
most wonderful news of all—
that
God is with us.
So, boys and girls,
before you crawl into your warm beds tonight,
I want you to look very carefully at trees in your
homes,
and to picture them hanging upside down!
And when you do that,
remember how again each year
Christmas points down like an arrow from heaven
to tell people that God loves us so much
that he didn’t want to stay far away,
but he chose to be born—weak and poor—
as a little child…just like you!
The end.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
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