A Christmas Quote
It may be because I am silly, but I rather think that, relatively to the rest of the year, I enjoy Christmas more than I did when I was a child. My faith demands that such be the case. The more mature I become the more I need to embrace the joys of the incarnation. The more mature I become, the more I need to be but a child. – G. K. Chesterton
I remember my excitement one childhood Christmas Eve when my parents let my sisters and me open one Christmas present early. As soon as I heard about this special treat my imagination ran off with wild ideas about the toy or game I would get to unwrap. I imagined myself playing with it late into the night. That night they gave me my present and I eagerly tore through the wrapping paper, opened the box and found…pajamas. Pajamas that would look good in the Christmas photos and the video that would be made the next morning.
G.K. Chesterton’s quote above is another present we get to open before Christmas; but this one matches and even exceeds our imagination. The deeper we dig into it, the more there is to delight and inspire.
Chesterton himself is a gift; a rather rare gift. He can take what has become commonplace and make it new again by turning it upside down, pointing out something we have not seen before, and thereby inviting us to be transformed by the newness of this familiar thing. All with a twinkle in his eye.
For example, he could have given us the idea behind this quote without any wrapping or bow saying something like, “We adults should celebrate Christmas.” It would have been simple and to the point. But it would have missed the playfulness so important to his message. He could have said, “Studies show that people who enjoy Christmas are happier the rest of the year.” Then he could share the data to convince us that what he said was true. Or he could have opened the present for us by writing, “Here are three concise steps to a happier Christmas,” so we could read it and apply it while multitasking with all of the other things on our to-do list this season. These are all much more common ways to convey information in our day. Much more mature and adult than starting with, “It may be because I am silly…”
Yet that first phrase surprises us. That adult part of us that has been carefully controlled awakens and we have to know more. “It may be because I am silly, but I rather think that, relatively to the rest of the year, I enjoy Christmas more than I did when I was a child.” Once we have read this first sentence, the gift of this quote is now firmly in our hands. We have to unwrap it to find out what on earth he is talking about. We wonder if there is a way that we too could recover the awe and wonder we used to have at Christmas.
After this first phrase the bow and wrapping paper are off and we are confronted with a rather plain brown box. “My faith demands that such be the case.” It isn’t a particularly enjoyable phrase on its own. It could seem rather strict and colorless. But because of what came before it, we have to deal with its plainness and open the box because there is a good chance that something lies within that will delight us.
“The more mature I become, the more I need to embrace the joys of the incarnation.” Yes, that’s what Christmas is, isn’t it? Hidden within the Christmas season is the celebration of God fully understanding our plight. What a relief it is to know that the One who made all things, who can do all things, who is everywhere at all times chose to be born like us, to sit with us and to see life through our eyes. Christmas is about stopping and remembering that we are deeply known and deeply understood by the One who created all things. Because of the incarnation maturity is no longer about gaining more control, but about letting go of the control we have and becoming like a child. It’s safe for us to do so. “The more mature I become,” Chesterton writes, “the more I need to be but a child.”
I remember another childhood Christmas when I unwrapped a gift from my parents and found the shortwave radio that I had been longing for. I spent the rest of the day traveling the world, searching different frequencies, and listening to all of the different languages on this planet on which we live. This quote from Chesterton takes me back to that Christmas, releasing me from the shackles of adulthood to experience, again, the wonder of the season; the wonder of being alive.
Merry Christmas.
Thanks for this beautiful message, Randy! Wishing you and your family a peaceful and happy Christmas too!