I once read a story about a little girl who made a small manger-crib out of sticks. But then she lined it with a piece of blue silk. Her mother saw this and reminded her that the baby Jesus had straw for his bed. Her answer? “I know, but when he comes this Christmas, I want to give him my best, not just straw.”
Children often have a spiritual wisdom that pokes adults in the heart. In the words of the song, we’ve grown a little sadder, grown a little colder, grown a little older... Well, we can also give all of that to the baby in the manger. He can take our harder, colder, sadder spirits and in his hands they can rest and be renewed. The Bethlehem babe is glad to receive us in whatever shape we arrive at the manger.
Of course, we can bring other gifts as well. We can bring our good intentions and ask him to make them firm. We can bring him our noble goals and ask him to strenthen our resolution. We can offer him our desires for integrity, justice, love and mercy and ask his guidance. We can bring our concern for the world and ask him to show us how to make the difference that he wants us to make. We can bring him our best and know that in partnership with him, our best can be even better.
Christmas day was not the climax...it was the beginning. Alleluia!
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