Evendays

Four of the elderly ladies from the local parish prayer group were gathering their affairs before leaving the prayer corner of the sanctuary. Daniel, the organist, was in a hurry to get to Geneva where he teaches music at the conservatory there. He’d just finished playing several pieces during their meditation time.

Mme Mosimann is a tiny, Swiss-German women, only 94 years old. She caught hold of Daniel’s hand as he was saying his necessary good-byes, throwing in the obligatory “Merry Christmas” and “My best wishes for the New Year”. Extremely polite. But Mme Mosimann would not let go of his hand, clasping it in both of hers.

“Merry Christmas,” she said, “And may you have much joy and peace in the New Year. May God grant you good health and may he protect you and give you much success in all you do.”

I suddenly realized that Mme Mosimann was doing more than being polite to Daniel. She was blessing him. What I had thought was just a cultural tradition to be pronounced to acquaintances are, in truth, words meant to transform. I had just glimpsed a holy moment, where one aged woman took her words, and her God, seriously, and brought blessing upon Daniel.

May God give you a merry Christmas, my friends.

We are traditionalists. And I say that in a good way.

I think.

The Christmas tree has its place. The Christmas books too. The Christmas decorations for the book shelves… The Santas napkin holders that dive onto the dining table bench during the night (long story)… The Christmas wreath on the door… The Christmas films.

Ah yes, the films. The Greatest Christmas Movie of All Time, the Muppet Christmas Carol (still watched on VHS, for the DVD cut one of the songs…) and the annual viewing of It’s a Wonderful Life, which continues to connect even though it aged poorly.

Underneath the key message (that most people never see the difference they’ve made in the lives of those around them) there is another theme: standing for right, doing good when your back’s to the wall, and feeling deeply bitter about the whole thing. Despite all the good he did, George Bailey was extremely bitter. And the evil Potter had it right when he said:

You once called me a warped, frustrated old man. What are you but a warped frustrated young man?

Ever struggle with that one?

Yes, the Christmas packages have arrived. Mom and Dad sent us a big box full of stocking stuffers and specially requested gifts. Very nice stuffers indeed. Some candy and Christmas cooking material came in the mail today from  friends and supporters who go way, way back. They always send us something at Christmas, which I find remarkable. We got two boxes of great goodies from TN about 6 weeks ago. Amazing.

And the cards… We have a picture board in the kitchen, 7.5 feet high and 3 feet high. Christmas time is its time of renewal. The Christmas 2007 pictures are layered onto the Christmas 2006 pictures, which bury the 2005 pictures. If you thumb through them quickly, you see little children become teens, dear friends turning gray. Kind of like those Cracker Jack flip book cartoons.

There’s no more boat mail or surface mail for packages from the USA. Something to do with homeland security, and we really should be grateful about it. Frugal mailers use the Priority Mail® Flat Rate envelopes or boxes, available for free from the USPS, but you have to pay the $11 or $37 when you drop them off.

We use Amazonian, Bread and Barrel, Toys R danger-US and Better Buy for our USA gift online purchases. Not very personal, I know… But at least they have free shipping.

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne (Revelation 12.1-5).

From the people of God came forth the Messiah. From the moment of his birth, Satanic forces strove for his destruction. The vision answers our question: Where is the Christ? Not in a manger. Not even on a cross. He is at the right hand of God.

As Peterson wrote in Reversed Thunder, this text reminds us…

that the nativity cannot be sentimentalized into coziness, nor domesticated into drabness, nor commercialized into worldliness…

Merry Christmas, my Kingdom friends.

The Ukraine trip went well. Must have eaten something that didn’t agree with me 48 hours before flying back to Switzerland. The WC confinement took off about 8 pounds, but I was able to escape that helpful room twice to teach the scheduled lessons to the church. God was merciful. And he does answer prayer.

It’s been a whirlwind since. Sunday and Monday Christmas activities with the churches. Tuesday with the Geneva studies. Today I am preparing the Lausanne December 24 lesson. And writing my first post in a week.

Handel’s Messiah plays regularly in the background on our stereo. So many memories: McLane High School and our annual presentation with a 120 member chorus plus orchestra… Singing it again, nearly 30 years later, in a 700 year-old church here in Lausanne with Sons 1 and 2.

But my favorite Messiah memory, by far, is Daughter strolling through the house singing the opening tenor solo with such gusto: “Come for tea. Come for tea, my people.” (Boys, do NOT mention this post to her.)

Anyway, got a minute? If so, please do “come for tea”.

Much love from Lausanne…