The Constant

 

Recently I was watching a rather engrossing series called, "Call The Midwife" from BBC. The series tells the story of different midwives during 1950's who are working alongside Nuns to help poverty stricken people in East England give birth. During one of the episodes, the narrator, Vanessa Redgrave said something quite melancholric. She said, "Christmas is the one constant, it is always the same, we can find comfort in It's truths and legends and be reassured that everything will go one as it always has done."

We live in a world of perpetual changes. Cultures, technologies, the workforce, families, and everything else is swept under the tide of change. For those who had old souls or God gave the love for the ancient world and the beauty and majestic nature of things that predate our times; it can be hard to weather the changes. Just when something seems to become familiar, it fades or is forsaken for something claiming to be the next step towards the future. One cannot easily keep up with the drastic innovations that have compelled us as Christians to keep up. I remember when VHS was the primary means of watching films at home. DVD was innovative because you did not have to rewind it and you could stop it and go to any chapter or section of the film you wanted. Then Digitial Streaming and Downloading came. Now you can carry your whole library of movies and music with you in a device as small as your phone. But despite the advantages that these changes have brought, every year we take comfort in the unchanging holidays.

For myself, Christmas is the holiday that like fixed star or unmovable ship, It stays there every year to bring a sense of calm and consolement. The holiday has Christ at its center. The truth is that Christmas is not the constant, but Christ is. He makes the holiday a great beacon of light, warmth, and joy in the midst of the darkest part fo the year. The legends may amuse and confuse, but it is  the truth of Christ, It is the Lord himself that is the light of the World.

I fear I may be rambling or that this post is redundant. But I cannot help letting out the cry for consistancy. So much in our world has changed and we are called to adapt if it does not violate our beliefs as Christians. But many flock to the old world. Renaissance Faires this Harvest Season are full and every year people let out the ghosts and ghoules, though I do not particpate in Holloween due to It's Satanic history. The holidays are like holding place of humanity sanity. In a world where nothing seems dependable, the seasonal feastivities are there, like angels to comfort those going through the shock. For contained in the rituals of each holiday is a memory; a transporting effect that allows us to return to those unchanging days when we ate candy apples, pumpkin pie, drank apple cider, eggnog, and smelled the scents of cinnamon and pine. For if only but a moment we are free from the neverending tide of change and get a chance to cherish Christ in the simple things like decorations, cookies, drinks, and all the other pieces of peace that help us reconnect with our sanity.