“In the end, dear friend, it is always between us and God, not between us and them.” – Mother Teresa

 From “Me Too, 365,” by Arnold Kunst 

25 December 

The Christmas story as told in the Bible starts out naturally enough, in a kind of a way: A very poor man and his very poor and very pregnant wife, forced by faceless authorities to unwanted travel, can’t find adequate lodgings for the night and end up in somebody’s barn where the woman gives birth. That kind of thing happens all the time, even if it may not happen in your experience or mine. But the story includes elements that are, to say the least, very strange indeed. Shepherds show up to worship the child whose birth was told them by angels. And a little later three wise men, or three kings, show up from the east talking of following a star and offering unusual gifts to that same child. As you can imagine, all this must have perplexed the mother beyond belief.  

The Bible summarizes her reaction like this: “…but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” I wonder if you and I shouldn’t follow that same two-pronged reaction –“treasure” and “ponder” – as we attempt to make sense of the goofy world we are called on to live in. Especially true in a world where the inclination is to react first and [maybe] think second.