Day 8: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 

Day 8

Good Christian friends, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice;

Give ye heed to what we say:

Jesus Christ is born today.

Christ is born today!

Christ is born today!

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Celia checked the fridge for a likely candidate for dinner. A few left-overs skulked in the backs of the shelves. Nothing tempting. Perhaps another omelet? She found two eggs and a small packet of cheddar cheese. Joe had always loved “breakfast for dinner.” 

As a matter of fact, Joe had done most of the cooking for the family. He loved concocting culinary creations from whatever he could find in the pantry. Whenever the kids had complained “There’s nothing to eat in this house!” Joe would open the almost empty refrigerator and declare, “There’s a culinary feast in here,” and somehow put a filling, if not gourmet, meal on the table. The kids had taken great delight in naming his creations, “Dad’s Chili Con Coconut,” or “Dad’s Yankee Doodle Dandy Noodle Surprise.” The weirder the ingredients the more fun the meal.

Taking out a milk carton and giving it a sniff, Celia almost dropped it when the phone rang. Reaching for the phone with one hand and dumping the soured milk into the sink with the other, Celia said, “Hello.” 

“Celia! Thank God you answered.”

Advent Challenge: Some people are born full of joy. They find joy in every circumstance. Every door they open presents them with new opportunities for happiness. What opportunities for joy can you find today? What joy can you create? What joy can you share? Christmas gives us the opportunity to give joy to others. Be creative. Share Christmas joy today. 

Prayer: Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and soul and voice; now ye hear of endless bliss: Jesus Christ was born for this! He has opened heaven’s door, and we are blest forevermore. Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this! Dear Jesus, you fill every heart and soul and voice with joy. We rejoice in your love. You opened the door to endless bliss. Thank you! Amen

Day 7: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 

Day 7

Love came down at Christmas

Love all lovely, love divine;

Love was born at Christmas;

star and angels gave the sign.

“Let me give you a hand. You must be the new kindergarten teacher. I teach industrial arts to the middle grades, translation, shop class — carpentry, design, small engines, and so on. My name is Joe.” 

Picking up her fallen bags, Celia nodded a quick “Hi,” ducked under his arm, and scurried down the hall to her classroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Joe lugging a small pine tree down the opposite hall. She hadn’t given Joe another thought for the rest of that busy first semester. 

On the day before the holiday break began, Starbright School had a tradition of gathering all of the students in the gym for a carol sing. Joe accompanied on the piano, pounding out melodies as the music teacher directed the children in their favorite holiday songs. His fingers flew over the keys and a smile lit his face. “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Jingle Bells,” “Up on the Housetop,” all kid-pleasers. How the children laughed when Joe held out the first note of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” so long that they were gasping for breath. 

The last carol was always “Silent Night.” Tears pricked Celia’s eyes as she listened to the sweet, almost-angelic, singing of the students, escaping when they settled on Joe and saw that he was blinking away tears of his own. He caught her eye, and the rest, as they say, was history.  

Advent Challenge: Advent is a time for preparing to welcome the Holy Infant and thanking God for the many blessings He has given us in years past. Get out your photo albums or view some photos stored in your computer. Give thanks for every person in your photos. Share a favorite or two with the younger members of your family or friends. 

Prayer: Worship we the Godhead, love incarnate, love divine; worship we our Jesus, but wherewith for sacred sign? Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine; love to God and others, love for plea and gift and sign. Lord, let our love be the sign of your love to the world. Amen

Day 6: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 Day 6

Said the night wind to the little lamb,

"Do you see what I see?

Way up in the sky, little lamb,

Do you see what I see?

A star, a star, dancing in the night

With a tail as big as a kite,

With a tail as big as a kite."

Celia remembered struggling to open the heavy door. Loaded with bags filled with books, blocks, crayons, and plastic coins, Celia’s mind whirled with plans for her first day teaching kindergarten. Her first jobs had been in accounting, but after a few years of counting numbers, Celia had returned to school to pursue a degree in education. After graduating in early December with her provisional certification in Elementary Ed, Celia had been hired immediately at Starbright school as a long-term substitute. 

With grades kindergarten to eighth, the school stretched out behind a church building that creaked with age. About a century newer, the school was hanging on with a hope and a prayer (heavy on the prayer) as the church lost members to more contemporary congregations in town. Celia thought it fitting that she start her career at Starbright, since the name Celia derives from “celestial,” meaning “of the stars.” A large illuminated star hung on the wall above the school’s name. A good sign for a new beginning.  

Bags tumbling from her shoulders, Celia lost her grip on the door. A hand, attached to a long arm, reached over her and grabbed the door. 

Advent Challenge: Advent is a time for new beginnings. Every morning, God grants us a new day. Do we greet each day with expectation or dread? Do we look to the stars or focus on the ground? Welcome each day of Advent as a new beginning — a day to give thanks, a day to give praise, a day to seek forgiveness, a day to grant forgiveness, a day to count your blessings, a day to share God’s love. Expect goodness and light and you will find them.

Prayer:  Said the king to the people everywhere,"Listen to what I say! Pray for peace, people, everywhere. Listen to what I say! The Child, the Child sleeping in the night, He will bring us goodness and light, He will bring us goodness and light.” Dear Lord, you fill each day with goodness and light. Thank you for new beginnings. Thank you for Jesus. We pray for peace for people everywhere. Amen

Day 5: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 

Day 5

This star drew nigh to the northwest,

O’er Bethlehem it took its rest;

And there it did both stop and stay

Right over the place where Jesus lay.

Her tea now as cold as Scrooge’s door knocker, Celia rose from her desk and headed to the kitchen, her cat Mistle hot on her heels. Mistle, or Mistletoe, a black cat with white paws, really belonged to Merry, a sixteenth-birthday gift from Joe. Joe had never let Merry’s birthday get lost in the holiday rush. Racing Celia down the stairs, Mistle stopped hopefully before her empty bowl. Her purrs filled the silence of the kitchen as she curled around Celia’s feet waiting for her to open a fresh pouch of kitty food. 

Celia crossed the kitchen to the radio planning to catch up on the latest news. She flipped it on but then immediately tuned to another station. The news today was just too much for her. Soft holiday tunes echoed in the empty kitchen. Celia sang along as she worked up the energy to fix herself some dinner. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, The First Noel, Silent Night, all recalling that sacred night in Bethlehem. Each carol a story.  

Celia sorted through the mail on the kitchen table. Her eyes wandered over the three empty chairs across from her perch. Merry’s and Hurry’s (a nickname which fit her son Harry exactly) faced each other at the sides. Joe’s empty chair stared back at her. 

Having finished her food, Mistle hopped into Celia’s lap, kneaded to soften it, and settled down for a nap. Looking down at the sleeping cat, Celia noted that her stomach did not need extra kneading these days. Merry was right about healthy eating and exercise. Absently, Celia stroked her pet as her mind drifted back to a Christmas long ago.

Advent Challenge: What is your favorite Christmas Carol? What stories are told? Do some research about its history and composer. Does the melody lift your spirit or bring you peace? Do the lyrics give you hope or make you feel reverent? During the Advent season, think about each carol you hear. What story does each tell? How do the stories of the carols fit into the story of your life?

Prayer: The first Noel the angel did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay keeping their sheep, on a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Dear Lord, as every carol tells a story of Christmas, may our lives tell the story of your love. Noel, Noel, Noel! Noel!  Amen

Day 4: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 Day 4

Ding dong merrily on high,

In heav'n the bells are ringing:

Ding dong! verily the sky

Is riv'n with angels singing

Ding! Celia’s cell phone offered a reprieve from her task. Merry’s face shone out from the phone. She had been texting Celia twice a day lately, now that she was alone. 

“All ready for our hike tomorrow?” Merry was determined to keep Celia cheerful with outdoor exercise, healthy food, and engaging projects. So far, they had taken yoga and painting classes together, biked along the boardwalk at the beach, and shopped at every organic food shop in the county. Merry had even gotten them a farm share for fresh vegetables last summer. The fun they had coming up with recipes for mountains of eggplant, tubs of purple potatoes, or bushels of kale! The zucchini and tomato harvest had almost overwhelmed them. Cooking and sharing with friends and those in need gave them extra joy. 

Merry had been all for Celia writing “a short Christmas story to inspire the congregation at this festive time of the year,” as her pastor had put it. Short, she might be able to do, but inspiring? Sighing, Celia sent a happy face sticker back to Merry on her new smartphone, another of Merry’s suggestions — dragging her mother into the twenty-first century. Celia bristled just a little. A hike, a writing project, and a new phone weren’t much comfort, but if they brought more time with her daughter, she was happy. Just the sight of Merry lifted her spirits. 

Celia shut her laptop. Her brain was as foggy as Scrooge’s London. Dickens had used up all the good story ideas. Shaking her head to clear it, Celia muttered, “Humbug,” under her breath. Perhaps tomorrow’s early morning hike would be just the thing to inspire her Christmas story. 

Advent Challenge: When was the last time you checked on someone you love? Give a call, share a recipe, cook something wonderful and deliver it to a shut-in. Use your smartphone or your computer to video call. Lift someone’s spirit today with a smile.

Prayer: Gloria! Gloria! Hosanna in excelsis! Dear Lord, with the angels and bells, we praise you. Gloria! Hosanna in excelsis! Amen

Day 3: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 

Day 3

The cattle are lowing

The poor Baby wakes

But little Lord Jesus

No crying He makes

The stars in the bright sky

Looked down where He lay

The little Lord Jesus

Asleep on the hay

Celia glanced into the mirror now shimmering in the dying day. The mirror caught the light of the rising and setting sun daily though it did not face the window. Joe had anchored it there many years ago in the soon-to-be nursery. The mirror had caught the awe-filled looks on the expectant parents’ faces as they set up the waiting cradle. Later, the mirror reflected their panicked faces when the baby’s sleepy sighs turned into lusty howls. Over the years, the mirror had recorded the first steps of their baby girl, countless funny faces, a young lady stepping into her first high heels, and the again awe-filled faces of her parents as she twirled around in her graduation gown. Merry, a Christmas present, the light in her newborn eyes reflecting the lights on their Christmas tree, embodied her name still. 

Every child is a gift. Celia learned this lesson from her own children and from the children she taught. Each student was a gift waiting to be unwrapped. Gifts filled with energy, joy, curiosity, hope, anger, sorrow, trust, and love, each child yearning to share their lives with their teachers. Shy smiles, uncontrolled giggles, tears sliding down rosy cheeks, little hands waving in the air or slipping into hers — gifts Celia would always treasure.  

Celia’s memories faded into the shimmering glass as she pulled herself out of her memories. 

She turned to face the empty computer screen.

Advent Challenge: What gifts have children given you? Take a moment to remember and appreciate each child in your life. Choose one or two to contact. Send a small gift — some stickers, a riddle, a page to color, a card — with a note telling them how much you love and appreciate them. Give thanks for the gift of children.

Prayer: Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever, and love me I pray.

Bless all the dear children In Thy tender care, and take us to heaven to live with thee there.  Amen

Day 2: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 

Day 2

Jesus our brother, kind and good

Was humbly born in a stable rude

And the friendly beasts around him stood

Jesus our brother, strong and good.

Stay out of Bethlehem. Celia’s tea cooled as she pondered her story options. What Christmas story had not been already written? There’s Scrooge, of course, the ghost of his story hung over many a holiday tale. Celia smiled at her unintended but apt pun. The Gift of the Magi, a story of misguided generosity. The Grinch stewing in his cold mountain cave, hating the Whos, hating Christmas itself. Children’s books covered everything from the North Pole to the mice under the tree. And the manger story! Every possible angle had been done — shepherds, angels, kings, midwife, innkeeper, innkeeper’s wife, cows, donkeys, doves, camels and on and on back to the mice again. There was no way Celia could find an original angle on the sacred story of the “origin of the day.” Maybe from the point of the hay?

Celia’s children had been full of stories — and questions. Did Jesus sleep in an animal’s feed trough? Didn’t he have a bed? Did he like the animals around him? Was he afraid of the cow (sheep, camel, dove). Did spiders live in the stable? What did they feed the donkey? Isn’t hay itchy? They were fascinated by the story of the miraculous birth in Bethlehem. A familiar story yet miraculous still.

No, Celia resolved; she must stay out of Bethlehem. 

Advent Challenge: Sometimes Bible stories become so familiar that we lose the wonder we felt the first time we heard them. Moses raised his rod and parted a sea! Jonah survived three days in the belly of the whale! Noah fit a pair of every animal on earth onto a boat! God loved us so well, that he sent his only Son to save us! Read the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem with the eyes of a child discovering it for the first time. Hear the cries of the baby and the sounds of the beasts standing around him. Bring your best gift to him — the gift of your heart. 

Prayer: Thus every beast by some good spell, in the stable dark was glad to tell, of the gift he gave Emmanuel, the gift he gave Emmanuel. Oh, Lord, accept the Advent gifts we bring, with full and fresh hearts, to lay before your son, Jesus, our brother, kind and good. Amen