Friday, December 22

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'"

When I was a boy, my family would frequently find me just sitting in the living room looking at the Christmas tree. There was something about the tree that was mesmerizing and that put me in the Christmas spirit. Now, decades later, I still find myself in front of our Christmas tree marveling at it just the way I did as a child.

In J. Ellsworth Kalas' book “What I Learned When I Was Ten: Lessons That Shaped My Life and Faith,” he recounts events from his youth and their lifelong effects. Kalas notes that children often see wonder in things that adults dismiss as mundane and that if we take the time to see things through a child’s eyes, we realize just how awesome those things are.

Jesus said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” I know that I spend too much time trying to gain academic understanding when the marvel of the Christmas story is that it is straightforward. Children recite the Christmas story with absolute understanding. Sure, it is meaningful to study those events from the perspective of the characters in the story, but it sometimes obfuscates the big picture of just what a wonder the miracle of the story itself is. Maybe it’s time for all of us to become like children, grab some “tree time” and look at Christmas with children's eyes marveling at the amazing gift of the baby Jesus.