As the previous post explained, we were having difficulty (impossibility?) in uploading any visual effects. As a result, I had not even attempted to show anything from Christmas. Now at last I can share a little about that special time--our first Christmas in our own home (well, 1/360th ours; i.e., 1 part ours and 359 parts the Bank's). Anyway you know what I mean.
So Mom joined us, coming over the Friday before Cmas and returning home the day after. We invited a couple from our church to join us for the Cmas dinner. That added something special to the frestivities. As is my/our custom, we slept in very much in the morning--till around 9:00 or maybe even later.
Then we dug into our stockings (Mom especially campaigned for these). And finally got around to the presents themselves. Bw and I had agreed that the framing of our tapestry from India would be our gift. But then I told her that actually I still had a little something (handmade purse) for her from India that I was saving for Cmas. So she went out and bought the store for me (new sweater and a book). In the video that follows, you can see the tapestry hanging on the wall in the background near the end of the vid.
[I'll try to get the vid in another time. I just got an "error" message.]
Amber came by both before and after Cmas. She spent most of the week with her mother and grandmother. But we got to see her (and Daisy) both coming and going. Below is a pic of the plates she made for us, with our favorite verses on them.
Oh yeah...One other note about Cmas: I went to the local RC church for midnight mass. I don't do that every year. But I've done it off and on since college days. It started as kind of our mini-rebellion against the established denomination we grew up in. But I have found it a pleasant change of pace as a context for worship God vis-a-vis his incarnation.
This year more than years before, I have contemplated the incredible concept of the ultimate, holy, infinite, eternal, pure, all-wise, omniscient, all-present GOD (can you grasp even that part?)--this GOD came to earth as a baby. It has been said so many times. But it all comes back to that.
When we emphasize the birth of this special baby, we really kind of miss the point of it all. The point is NOT that a special baby was born. The point is that GOD became flesh.
Try to come to grips with that!
ttfn
2 comments:
So wonderful that Grandma was there to celebrate. Hopefully we will get to celebrate with her during a holiday sooner than later! Stockings are a must! :) Good thing she prevailed on that account! The plates from Amber are great. She is SO crafty! :) And yay for midnight mass - it really is a special way to start Christmas! -S
The mystery of the incarnation, of God in man made manifest, in the person of Jesus the Christ, is the very center of our Christian life. From this 'scandal of particularity' we understand that God acts, not solely as the grand orchestrator behind the scenes, but in and through his creation. The sacraments, and their regular celebration, are based on this, as is the whole of orthodox Christian prayer and work (ora labora). As the body of Christ, the church continues the work of the incarnation of God, transforming and reconciling all of creation to God and itself.
Cheers,
Shawn
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