Drake Dunaway
One of us
By Drake Dunaway
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
A God, for those who believe, must necessarily inspire a certain degree of fear and awe. If there is a hand holding the strings at the end of "cosmic string theory," the unfettered power and infinite knowledge of an Almighty would be enough to make us gasp if we could grasp the vastness of it all. So it seems rather strange that such a powerful God would lower himself with such humility (an emotion that He doesn't rightfully need) and arrive as His word in the life of a man; Jesus of Nazareth.
Most Christians know that Jesus was not born in December, and that after Rome converted to Christendom, the commemoration of Christ's advent was made to overlap the pagan festival of Saturnalia. So I guess it would be sort of a belated celebration...or half birthday. Others suggest that the pre-Christian celebration of Solis Invictus, the Mithraic birth of the Unconquered Sun, occupied the end of the year celebrations that Christmas replaced. John Chrysostom, the 4th century Byzantine Archbishop, noted the day's appropriate handover from paganism to Christ by stating: "They call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered.' Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord . . .? Now given that the scripture does not mandate the celebration of Christmas on a date specific, the day on which it is celebrated is of little consequence. What does matter is that a manger in Bethlehem held a message that would rock the wide world. In any event, "considering the lilies" seemed to catch on faster than Kwanzaa.
A friend of mine, flexing a rather coarsened sense of humor, suggested to me that God was poaching on Joseph's hunting grounds, and that His motives were lust-driven, and that notion has been sport for many late night comedians. Biting my tongue from railing at the crassness of it all, I had to object. Yeah, I am sure that out of all the magisterial loveliness of eternity, God would go Zeus and find a short-lived human remotely desirable. This also assumes that God has a libido, which is another leap built on top of the general leap of faith that we all face. Unfortunately, people who make such ridiculous claims (blasphemy) seem rather eager to reduce the Christmas Story to a mere punchline. Sadly, if the assumption of a cosmic tryst is all that some perceive in the Nativity story, then I truly pity the fool.
My winter memories hearken back to years ago in Ohio, when my family would sit around the old-fashioned wood-burning fireplace, and read the Nativity Story over hot cocoa as the snow drifted softly over the white dunes outside, beneath a black and quiet sky. My brother Kyle would amuse himself by tossing chemical pinecones into the fire that would burn in red, yellow, green, and blue flame. I would imagine those little things are illegal now. Hmmm... Nevertheless, this time of year retains a poignancy that the shopping mall industrial complex can't take away. Remember how much you have to be thankful for in this wretched economy. As bad as things become, you're not the hapless dunderhead who gets caught under the mistletoe with Barney Frank. Be grateful. I myself walk everywhere with a spring in my step and a song in my heart. I got me some JC this year, and I don't even need to keep my receipt!
And I'm not going to forget my Jewish friends! Happy Hanukkah, and good job throwing off the yoke of King Antiochus IV and the Seleucid Empire! Technically your stunt was practiced first, so I extol the Law of Moses and the Word of YHWH, and to paraphrase Adam Sandler: drink your gin and tonikah, but don't smoke marijuanukah! Have a Happy, Happy Hannukah!
So sit back with some eggnog and light up your Christmas tree. Think about what this season is really about, and know that it's not the birth of Baby Santa Claus.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and have a fulfilling New Year.
Sincerely,
Your googly-eyed commander of sequential art. >>
© Drake Dunaway
December 15, 2009
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An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
A God, for those who believe, must necessarily inspire a certain degree of fear and awe. If there is a hand holding the strings at the end of "cosmic string theory," the unfettered power and infinite knowledge of an Almighty would be enough to make us gasp if we could grasp the vastness of it all. So it seems rather strange that such a powerful God would lower himself with such humility (an emotion that He doesn't rightfully need) and arrive as His word in the life of a man; Jesus of Nazareth.
Most Christians know that Jesus was not born in December, and that after Rome converted to Christendom, the commemoration of Christ's advent was made to overlap the pagan festival of Saturnalia. So I guess it would be sort of a belated celebration...or half birthday. Others suggest that the pre-Christian celebration of Solis Invictus, the Mithraic birth of the Unconquered Sun, occupied the end of the year celebrations that Christmas replaced. John Chrysostom, the 4th century Byzantine Archbishop, noted the day's appropriate handover from paganism to Christ by stating: "They call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered.' Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord . . .? Now given that the scripture does not mandate the celebration of Christmas on a date specific, the day on which it is celebrated is of little consequence. What does matter is that a manger in Bethlehem held a message that would rock the wide world. In any event, "considering the lilies" seemed to catch on faster than Kwanzaa.
A friend of mine, flexing a rather coarsened sense of humor, suggested to me that God was poaching on Joseph's hunting grounds, and that His motives were lust-driven, and that notion has been sport for many late night comedians. Biting my tongue from railing at the crassness of it all, I had to object. Yeah, I am sure that out of all the magisterial loveliness of eternity, God would go Zeus and find a short-lived human remotely desirable. This also assumes that God has a libido, which is another leap built on top of the general leap of faith that we all face. Unfortunately, people who make such ridiculous claims (blasphemy) seem rather eager to reduce the Christmas Story to a mere punchline. Sadly, if the assumption of a cosmic tryst is all that some perceive in the Nativity story, then I truly pity the fool.
My winter memories hearken back to years ago in Ohio, when my family would sit around the old-fashioned wood-burning fireplace, and read the Nativity Story over hot cocoa as the snow drifted softly over the white dunes outside, beneath a black and quiet sky. My brother Kyle would amuse himself by tossing chemical pinecones into the fire that would burn in red, yellow, green, and blue flame. I would imagine those little things are illegal now. Hmmm... Nevertheless, this time of year retains a poignancy that the shopping mall industrial complex can't take away. Remember how much you have to be thankful for in this wretched economy. As bad as things become, you're not the hapless dunderhead who gets caught under the mistletoe with Barney Frank. Be grateful. I myself walk everywhere with a spring in my step and a song in my heart. I got me some JC this year, and I don't even need to keep my receipt!
And I'm not going to forget my Jewish friends! Happy Hanukkah, and good job throwing off the yoke of King Antiochus IV and the Seleucid Empire! Technically your stunt was practiced first, so I extol the Law of Moses and the Word of YHWH, and to paraphrase Adam Sandler: drink your gin and tonikah, but don't smoke marijuanukah! Have a Happy, Happy Hannukah!
So sit back with some eggnog and light up your Christmas tree. Think about what this season is really about, and know that it's not the birth of Baby Santa Claus.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and have a fulfilling New Year.
Sincerely,
Your googly-eyed commander of sequential art. >>
© Drake Dunaway
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