BY Bill Reagan
This is the feel good story time of year. There are countless variations of the “misfit hero who saved Christmas” theme — Rudolph, Buddy the Elf, The Santa Clause. Everybody gets what they want for Christmas, even the naughty ones because, well, it’s Christmas! Why not? Many places are as cold or colder than we have been recently. A little winter fantasy during these short winter days and cold winter nights can’t hurt.
There is another feel good story we like to tell each other this time of year. The “true spirit of Christmas” story. Ordinary people filled with the Christmas spirit remember the less fortunate. Toys for needy children. Turkeys with all the trimmings for the elderly. Canned food drives for food pantries. End of year financial donations to church and charity. Project Angel Tree. The list is long. Good causes, every one. This paper has its share of “true Christmas spirit” stories. A little inspiration this time of year could do us all a little good.
Then there’s the real story. The one about the Virgin and the Christ Child. The one about the manger. The one about shepherds and angels. The one about church and carols and candles.
The real story is not quite as pretty as we portray it in church. The Holy Family made a difficult journey to Bethlehem because the Roman emperor made them do it. The manger was not a pretty palm tree lean-to. It was a hole in the ground. The shepherds were not cute children dressed in bed sheets. They were hired hands, known for their rough reputation.
Yet that’s the story. The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of more than a thousand years of faith and expectation. His birth is the Feel Good Story of All Time – the promise of hope, forgiveness and life in the One known as Immanuel (God is with us).
Merry Christmas.
Bill Reagan is executive director of Loaves & Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley.
