About a Child
December 25, 2020
John Borrero

It is hard to find someone more excited for the arrival of Christmas than a child. It is an unfortunate consequence of maturity that the magic of this season wanes as time distances us from our own wide-eyed beginnings. We become very serious.

For serious-minded adults, December is the end of the tax season. It can be a time of financial struggle for parents who take on extra work to fill the floor beneath their Christmas trees with children’s heartfelt desires. It can be a reminder of loved ones that we have lost and the celebrations that have continued without them. This year, December also marks the ninth month of a profound fear which has left its mark on a people immobilized by a global health pandemic. There has, in truth, been much to darken the sky.

But I invite you to try something: Sit with a young child and ask them why they love Christmas. 

Although they have lived under the same clouds, they will remind you that this time of year is more than what we have seen with our adult eyes. A four-year-old will tell you that Christmas is a time of wonder, joy and awe, about glimmering street lights and jolly carols, and the magical mixture of folkloric rituals and family traditions. Over the course of my time working with children, and through whatever struggles characterized my early career, I have always found it hard to remain somber in the face of such optimism. I’ve come to believe that Christmas might be a time for us to be more like children. 

Children have taught me that there is something in their rose-colored view of the world that is available to us as well. Even for adults, Christmas is the culmination of a year’s work, punctuated by a celebration of togetherness. It is the caterpillar that was 2020, transforming into the butterfly that we hope 2021 will be. It is opportunity delivered to people in the birth of a new year. Christmas is all of these experiences for all of us. Maybe it always has been.

The story of Christ reminds us that childhood is an experience of boundless potential with a horizon bursting with promise. It is a story which embeds into our tradition the concept that Christmas is as much about the birth of Christ and our covenant with God as it is about the renewal of our faith in what is to come. We are also reminded of the importance of humility and grace, because born humbly, Christ was a sign of God’s grace towards people. He was a divine gift given to us in the most human of circumstances. A Christmas light on an otherwise dark sidewalk. 

Maybe December can also remind us that it can be beautiful to be like children. What if we could find in our hearts an innocent, almost childlike love and appreciation for one another? What could that do for our world?  What if we could approach each year with our hearts full of wonder, light, song and magic? Perhaps we could lead lives that are more playful and hopeful, honest and trusting. And then in this childlike state of hope and joy, love and grace, we might also find ourselves more connected to our own divinity.   

Perhaps that is what was intended all along.

Prayer
Precious God.  Thank you for the gift of hope. Thank you for the promise that each year brings. Help us to live in wonder and awe of your generosity and to see the world as children do, hearts open, full of kindness and grace. Amen.