Pick
up any December woman's magazine, and you'll see articles titled "Coping
with the Holidays," "How to Avoid Holiday Stress," "Helping your
Children Face the Season." I even have an article I tore out from Sunday
School Leader magazine a few years ago, titled "Helping Children Get
Through the Holidays." The morning news-talk shows have segments on "How
to Have a Happy Holiday." The presumption is that there will be
stressful moments, anxious minutes, and some downright awful times
during the holiday season — because what happens during the holiday
season very often does not meet our expectations of what should happen
during the holiday season.
Children, especially, have expectations this time of year. When
Matthew was three, he asked Santa for a teddy bear. Bob and I were
surprised because he already had a teddy bear that he took everywhere
with him — to bed, to day care, shopping. When he was sent to his room
for some offense or another, he would cry for "best friend, Koko." I was
always surprised that we didn't leave Koko behind somewhere, but then he
was too important to forget. So, when Matthew asked Santa, at age three,
for a second teddy bear, we were surprised. I guess Santa was, too,
because Santa didn't leave one that year. Koko continued to be Matthew's
best friend and time-out buddy, and we never heard a word about another
teddy bear – until the next Christmas...
...John the Baptist had publicly and sternly rebuked Herod's blatant
sin. (This was in the days before Congressional committees, mind you.)
Herod took his revenge and had John thrown into the dungeons of the
Machaerus fortress in the mountains near the Dead Sea. It must have
seemed to John, when he heard what Jesus was doing — the healings, the
miracles, the teachings — that if Jesus were the Messiah, he could do
something about John being in prison. And so, John sent his messengers
to Jesus: "Are you the one who is to come?" he asked. "Are you the
Messiah?" John wanted to know. John, it seems was disappointed that
Jesus had not brought his army of angels to destroy sinful Rome...
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