MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

            It’s 2:38 on Christmas Morning.  I worked in the shop for most of Christmas Eve.  In my defense, I was finishing up a butcher block table, a Christmas gift.  Anyway, a day of physical work resulted in an unusual event in my life.  I went to bed early and being a four to five hour a night sleeper, well, I’m up and at ‘em, feeling invigorated, well rested and excited about the day.

            And I should be.  It is Christmas Day, the celebration of the day that Jesus Christ was born.  Sure, we’ve got gifts, an incredible amount of extraordinary food (it helps having a best friend who is a seafood broker) and family. Indeed, this is all great stuff, but it is nothing compared to the birth of Jesus Christ.

            I’ve gone to church since before I can remember and have always been a Christian, but only in the last five years has the power of God, his Son and the Holy Spirit, sunk in.  Now, I could go to the Bible and cite scripture to make my point, but I’m not going to do that.  Instead, I’m going to give you my take on what Christ offers us, which is, of course, based upon the Bible and the power and grace of God, but maybe a bit more practical sounding than what you might hear from a pulpit. Theologians and Bible scholars may disagree but so be it.  This is my take and it works for me.

            For years, I’d go to church, occasionally, and leave with a feeling that everything I sought in life was wrong.  Wealth is bad.  Pride is a sin.  The good son gets pimped by the bad son.  The camel through the eye of a needle stuff.  All of it struck me as contrary to my desire to pursue the American dream, any dream for that matter that involved material wealth, which includes not just things, but travel, adventure and extraordinary experiences.  It really does cost a healthy sum to ski Chamonix, Chile, own a home in Roatan or fish in Alaska, although one of the Alaska ventures was another benefit of having a best friend who is a fish broker.  The other one was a poor, nineteen-year-old kid with a 1970 Chevy Impala (in 1981), living at the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, working at Bullwinkle’s Pizza and fishing when I wasn’t.  The other one cost real money.  Anyway, I’ve always sought out adventure and life experiences.  I’d be much more financially secure if I didn’t, but my nature is to be averse to the ordinary.  It scares me, sincerely, it does.  And yes, my aversion requires money which requires hard-work, especially with a wife, children, responsibility and likely more past than future.  But, for me, the opportunity of a life time is not a time specific event, it’s the whole thing, the opportunity of a life time, not an opportunity in a life time.  I mean, it’s all out there, just begging to be experienced, opportunity after opportunity.  But I digress.  What has this got to do with Christmas, right?

            Here’s what.  “Life is difficult,” Scott Peck wrote in The Road Less Travelled.  He was correct.  We are bombarded with challenges, wants, needs, desires, shortcomings, failures, tragedies, crisis, disappointment and rejection.  Ouch.  That last sentence came to easily – too much familiarity maybe?  Kind of scary and depressing.  It doesn’t have to be.  Throughout the Bible, we are told not to be afraid, that God is with us, that everything is possible through God.  This got me thinking, trying to understanding what all this power and glory of God-talk was about.  The Bible also says we are God’s children.  He is our father (and probably mother too) and there is nothing more that a parent wants than for his children to triumph and experience love and joy, to be happy.  So, if we are God’s children, we can assume he wants us to be happy and experience the wonders he’s provided us, whether they be a loved-one, a moment with family or friends, or a magnificent mountain or waterfall.  Sure, he does, but why don’t we?  Why do we fall into a redundant grind of rationalization, excuse and mundanity?

Here’s why?  Fear.  Fear is a real poison pill to a good time, a good life for that matter.  Fear is a funeral shroud that thwarts that which is good.  Fear stymies and retards us.  So, what if you didn’t have to be afraid?  What if you operated your life in a manner where every decision, every move, was free of the influence of What ifs?  What if I make them mad?  What if I fail?  What if I embarrass myself?  What if I’m rejected (or not elected)?  What if I get hurt?  But, what if you had the courage to, more often than not, make the right decision rather than the easy decision or the painless decision or the decision without any significant consequence?  What if your life was a fearless exercise guided by righteousness rather than trends, fads, approval and short-term pleasure?

You’d be a dork, right?  Nope, not at all.  Here’s what I recommend.  Believe you are a child of God.  Know that Christ, God’s Son, has offered you the greatest gift ever.  Believe it because I’m certain it’s true.  I’m not being a missionary here, trying to convert you or chastise you either.  Quite the opposite.  I’m telling you that there is this amazing gift being offered to you, a gift that will one-hundred percent for sure, make your life noticeably improved.  All you have to do is accept it.  As Judge Casciato said in Torts Class when referring to the money you can make in medical malpractice, “It’s just sitting there.”  Now, for the record, I am not encouraging you to become the next Mother Theresa, rationalizing with blind faith that your endless sacrifice and devotion will be rewarded when you die, you hope.  By the way, I’m not criticizing Mother Theresa, although my friends (especially my wife) would say that it is entirely within the ken of my abilities to do such I thing.  I’m sure Mother Theresa knew exactly what she was doing and loved doing it.  What I am telling you is that in now time, your life will get better.

Here’s an example.  I do some pro-bono work in law and have done it for my entire career, but not an extraordinary amount.  I have never received any public service awards and I’ve never deserved one either. But in the last five-plus years, when times were tough (and they do get tough at times for a country lawyer), I’ve taken a deep breath and reached into my family’s wallet and given a significant amount to a needy family.  I do it through our pastor.  I insist that I am not told which family is receiving it and that the family doesn’t know who gave it to them.  It’s a double-blind charity.  I don’t see them and they don’t see me or my family.  And what do you know?  Always, life rewards us.  And they say God’s not watching.  Still, being somewhat obsessed with words, I am of the belief that the word selfish is an oxymoron.  Every classically selfish person I’ve ever known is thoroughly miserable.  And every sincerely generous person I’ve ever known is happy.  So, if you really want to be selfish, give.  Whether it be money, time or even a helping hand, give and life will reward you with more than you gave.  If you want to be truly selfish, don’t be selfish.  Admittedly, I feel a little guilty when I give because I know I will receive more, thus, I feel selfish.  If you want to be really selfish, attempt to follow the Ten Commandments – and your life will improve. 

But maybe you’re a doubter?  Let’s get practical in our analysis.  If you doubt the existence of Jesus Christ, then by transitive reasoning, you must also doubt the existence of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Socrates, Plato, even William Shakespeare, William Tell and King Arthur.  There is simply more historical archeological evidence of Jesus Christ than these other guys.  Also, the Gospels have not been edited.  They stand up to historical examination.  Jesus Christ is mentioned in secular sources.  He is referenced in the Qur’an, multiple times.  Want some practical analysis.  Charles Colson, who spent time in prison for Watergate, made an obvious point when he said, “Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”     Or Michael Franzese, a made man in the Colombo Crime Family, who said, and I’m relying on memory here, not Google, “What got me was that there was no body.  Those, Romans, they’re my people (Italians) and after a guy like Christ, who was driving them crazy, gets executed on a cross and then they hear that he rose from the dead?  Let me tell you, if there was a body, a corpse, anywhere, if there was any way possible to prove Jesus wasn’t who he said he was, those guys would have found the body to prove that he didn’t rise from the dead, that he wasn’t who he said he was.” 

And why not believe in Christ?  The guy could walk on water, turn water into wine, heal the sick, raise the dead, catch fish on the worst of fishing days, and most importantly, to me, he was the bravest man ever to exist, unafraid and fearless – because he was God’s son.  He was unafraid to say what he felt, to do what he desired, unafraid of government, unafraid of being rejected, of being denied or even of being hung on a cross until he died.  He was and is a the truest of heroes.  A hero infinitely more so than Aaron Rogers, who as an aside, has regained my respect and admiration now that he has come out against being woke.  Aaron is lately playing in a ridiculously phenomenal zone, too.  That helps, too.  ButAaron Rogers a hero and Jesus isn’t?  Sorry, but no way.

And Jesus, the Son of God, offered all his power and love for the simple price of accepting it.  A deal like that doesn’t come around too often, once actually.  And it is the opportunity of a lifetime, not an opportunity in a lifetime.    Today, we celebrate his birth and everything he brought to us for us.  Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, is the best of days and if you accept him, accept his love under his terms, which make a zero-interest rate seem expensive, I assure you, you will be thankful.  Today, I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the bringer of life.  There is no better Christmas present.  To, quote Cousin Edie (Randy Quaid) from the movie, Christmas Vacation, “That’s the gift that keeps on giving.” And it is, for eternity if your smart enough to accept it.  Give it a try and hold on, because life will surpass your wildest expectations.  You can trust me on this one or better yet, trust God and Jesus – it’s the first step in unwrapping the gift and it only gets better. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL. 

Brett Reetz