A Social Network Christmas

It's Christmas break. I'm sitting in my family room at home, alone, looking at the Christmas tree and thinking, "I haven't wrapped my presents." I don't think about how grateful I am that my family gets to celebrate Christmas about three times this year with relatives. I don't think about goodwill toward men. I don't think about much else, actually, except the fact that I haven't wrapped my presents.



Snapping out of it, I thought to myself, "Where's your Christmas spirit?" I just wasn't getting into it. Christmas felt a little bah, humbug this year.



So I got on Facebook (yeah, that'll bring me Christmas spirit). And to my surprise...it did.



A friend of mine had posted a video--A Social Network Christmas (http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=9M1F2CNU) on GodTube (yes, they have a God version of YouTube). Interested, I clicked the link and found myself witnessing the Christmas story in a very new and unique way--through Joseph's Facebook page.



Suddenly, there was a lump in my throat--Mary's status: "I'm pregnant! Conceived by the Holy Spirit!" Mary's trust in God's favor was obvious. Joseph's status: "I don't know what's going on. I'm hurting confused." Joseph's doubt and hurt put into words.



This video really put things into perspective for me. When Joseph posts, "IT'S A BOY!" someone asks what they're naming him. "O Come, O Come, Immanuel" plays in the background.



"He shall be called



Jesus"



At the name of the child, the music swells up--"Rejoice!"



It's a command that's hard to ignore. I had tears in my eyes as I closed the page, feeling Joseph's confusion and Mary's steadfast optimism, how grateful they must have been to Elizabeth and Zechariah for their support, how awe-struck they must have felt when the baby came, this tiny blessing for which they had been specifically chosen by God.



How it must have felt for Mary--she conceived before she was married, thought she might have to go it alone when Joseph considered breaking the engagement, had almost no one to turn to, and yet had an unwavering faith in God. I imagine a vision of an angel is hard to forget. And yet when she held that little baby in her arms, how overwhelmingly blessed she must have felt. Most mothers can relate to that feeling, I think, that thought that despite how scary the future is, in that moment, holding your baby, it's as though everything is worth the effort. Imagine, though, how much more incredible it must have been for Mary, who wasn't carrying just any child, but part of God's very existence in her womb. And to hold him, Jesus, in her arms, this slice of divinity that was entrusted to her--I understand now why Mary treasured these things in her heart.



And how it must have felt for Joseph--he was betrothed to a woman who claimed to have conceived by the Holy Spirit (now that's a new story for ya!), and just when he was thinking of breaking off the engagement, an angel of God (I mean, a personal messenger of the God you believe and trust) appeared to him in a dream. "You're not running out on her when she needs you most." And suddenly, there's nothing else to do but trust God.



Do you realize how incredible this was? These circumstances aren't really ones to be faked; God put a little bitty baby in Mary's womb, a miniature version of a human, a fetus who would change the entire course of history, theology, religion, and everyone on earth.



Don't you think that's enough to occupy our thoughts over Christmas? The only reason we give gifts is because we're imitating the Great Gift God gave us. And what a poor imitation it is.



And here I am, thinking about how I'm not in the Christmas spirit and I still need to wrap presents.