Jesus is the Reason for the Continuation of the Season

Jesus was born, really, in space and time. He kept on being a baby for an entire childhood, unlike myths that are not totally true.* This is one very good reason not to rush past Christmas after the First Day. We need to celebrate the full Twelve Days of Christmas, because Jesus was born of the Mother of God just as much on day six as day one!

Mary had a star shine on the night of his birth, shepherds show up, with wisemen a few days later. Herod would act like Herod and try to wipe out any competition and the family would spend a few years in Egypt as exiles in a foreign land. They would go home when Herod cooled down to Jerusalem’s room temperature. Once home in Nazareth, Jesus would grow up physically and spiritually. All of this is very exciting and when compressed has made some beautiful movie scenes, but the life of Jesus actually unfolded in normal time.

Jesus was a baby on days where nothing much happened, more days by far than the dramatic ones. No star hovered over his cradle most nights. Shepherds? They watched sheep night after night. The magi went back to their night time jobs of watching the stars. The family was not important enough to stay very long on the radar of so paranoid a party as the Herodians.

Jesus grew up and Mary and Joseph watched God in the flesh learn to talk, walk, and care for himself. These two parents got used to the Son of God being around the house. On the singular occasion He did something odd, like wandering off to the Temple, they did not find Him at first by looking in His Father’s house, because they had been with the boy long enough to stop mentally capitalizing His pronouns. He was a boy like Joseph had been and nobody had been tempted to say of him that he was a He. Mary and Joseph lived with Jesus the days after Christmas Day. Mary made it (at least) to Easter and Pentecost.

We need to do the same. Mary and Joseph celebrated a good many Christmas Days without the flash and dazzle of the first Christmas. They had to be content with seeing Jesus grow every day in favor with God and other people.

Imagine “settling” for the very Son of God.

Yet here is a law for people: nothing begins big enough and continues with excitement varied enough that we can resist boredom. We can only cease to be bored when we are mindful. We must wonder about growth just as we wondered about incarnation.  

The first night of Christmas was huge and there were other big days, but most days with Jesus and Mary were not a Big Thrill. Most days, Mary must have helped as she could, seeing the Word of God grow and pondering what possibly could be happening. So it is in our celebration: we are on the six day, halfway to the end, and Jesus is still born. We still glorify Him, but it is hard to see Him if we have moved on. The Holiday is just getting going, even if the novelty of the decorations has faded. Christ is still in our midst and we still glorify Him!

Day fifteen of married life is less a thrill than day one, maybe, but the mystery of love is no less wonderful. The celebration of sixth day teaches us to see the Baby without special lighting or effects. We always look to the Beloved in hope even on the sixth day afterwards.

Merry Christmas.

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*There are many ways to define myth. Here I am using Plato’s definition from Timaeus that a myth is a “likely story.” It is a tale that covers the known facts, but it might not be true. The Jesus myth covered the known facts and worked out indeed. The story that Plato tells in Timaeus? Not so much.