'Tis the season...let it be

It is Christmas...not the actual day, but the "season." It has gotten me thinking, which is a dangerous proposition since my head is not always a safe place to be. But there is good background music...holiday tunes interpreted by Barbra Streisand and Annie Lennox...so I'm going with it. One week from today, it will be Christmas day. The day we celebrate the birth of a Savior. Or Santa. Or poultry. Or capitalism. It just depends on your world view, I guess. Regardless, December is typically a full month. Office parties, children's programs, church services, shopping, cooking, traveling, and whatnot. In the midst of these busy activities, I often hear people bemoan those things as distractions from the "reason for the season" (which, while I can get on board with loving Jesus, I abhor this particular phrase). It occurred to me in a text sent to a friend who is well-versed in life's juggling act (holiday or otherwise), that our chaos is probably more accurately reminiscent of the first Christmas than the serene event we have pictured on the cards we mail to friends and acquaintances across the country. As describe in the gospels, Mary and Joseph dealt with last-minute travel, sub-par lodging, and mandatory government paperwork (Luke 2:1-7). I wonder if Mary knew that she would have her baby while they were in Bethlehem. Did she pack her bag and a "going-home" outfit for Jesus? And why didn't Joseph make a reservation at one of the local inns for their stay? And what went through the heads of these new parents when perfect strangers showed up to the random barn they found to visit/worship the newborn? I'm sure things like virgin conception and an angelic pregnancy test had alerted them that their experience wasn't going to be typical, but still... It makes me think of lyrics sung so sweetly by Jill Phillips on Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God: http://youtu.be/SK2PX7hH6io. It was not a silent night, but rather a labor of love. We have tidied up the miraculous birth in order to create a Hallmark moment. But in truth, life is messy, chaotic, and unpredictable. At least it was for Jesus and his parents. Perhaps it would be wise if I adjusted my expectations accordingly.