Guest Commentary

It is the simple times that mean the most. Simplicity makes complex times in our lives more manageable.

Closing our doors and staying at home, avoiding being out in the public, preserving our health and well-being. These have added uncountable complexities to our ability to preserve our society in the manner to which we’ve become accustomed.

But, maybe that’s the whole point. Perhaps ridding ourselves of overscheduled busy-ness is one of the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you remember, Christmas started with a simple occasion. The birth of a child who held promise and hope in the binding together of Christians through the love of God.

It was our Creator’s gift to us.

That simple star…that was shining brightly in the sky, led three wise men, royalty you may call them, to a space that was filled with animals and straw, and two people, and a baby lying in a manger.

Over the years, commercialism, politics and entertainment have blurred our perception of that simple moment that grew into the greatest of the world’s experiences.

We got busy. We hustled and bustled and bought gifts and decorated. We ran to this event and that event.

It’s that moment when you go to the Christmas Eve service, and begin to sing “Silent Night” in the glow of scores of candles; that’s when the lump in your throat rises, tears form in your eyes, and you bow your head, whispering to yourself “Thank you, Jesus.”

We have returned to, once again, that simple moment. The moment of awe. That moment that takes our breath away and makes us want to be better people.