Birthdays

One thing I have in common with God is a December birthday. (Now, I know that this whole December thing is a Christian myth to counteract the Roman Saturnalia, but, given the whole celebration compulsion, the myth might as well be true.) I never much liked the idea of a birthday that was co-opted by Christmas, that precluded birthday parties, that gave friends and family the option of covering both birthday and Christmas with one gift. In short, I always felt my ‘special’ day got lost in the shuffle.

Perhaps Jesus and I have more in common than I thought.

It is so easy each year to lose track of the honoree in our celebration of his birthday.  There are so many other things going on that Christmas itself becomes just a sigh of relief at the end of a long month of dashing hither and yon in pursuit of all the rituals and traditions, the visits, the parties, the cards and gifts. Maybe what Jesus would really prefer is a nice quiet observance—just family and friends—with cake and ice cream, balloons, and some well-thought-out gifts.

Family and friends? I believe that would be everyone. We are all part of God’s family, even though—like many families—we have our disagreements. But families do come together for special occasions like birthdays, and (at least temporarily) bury our respective hatchets. We could do that. The cake and ice cream are a little harder, but I think Jesus would settle for a simple meal with all of us sharing one table. The gifts? What would Jesus want? That is the premier question of Christmas, and our task, during Advent is to figure that out, to take the time to think about what we can give that would be a good birthday present, that would light up his face and warm his heart. We all know the gifts that would do just that; we are just haggling over the price.  Can we afford the time and effort? How much will this cost? But Christmas is a time to be generous, and so, weighing cost against return on investment…maybe we can find time for that tutoring. Maybe we can give that extra bit for the missions. Maybe we might squeeze out an hour to serve a meal, make a sandwich, volunteer for a good cause.  So what if it doesn’t wrap up nicely in a box? I think he would understand and wholeheartedly approve.

And perhaps Jesus might be interested in my family’s solution to my badly-timed birthday.  We started celebrating my HALF-birthday in June.  What a concept that would be: celebrating Christmas in mid-year. Or …why stop there? Maybe we should celebrate him all year long, and start each day with a cheerful “Happy birthday!”

I’ll bring the balloons.