In many of our churches, we only hear the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
However, all the retailers have been telling us for months that we need to visit them in order to be ready for "The Big Day."
We can get so distracted, we take the true Christmas story for granted.
Sometimes we don't get past the wrapping of the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes.
That appears to me to be the moment we pass the baby back to Mary and Joseph, leave the stable to unwrap the presents, eat a Christmas meal, remember with nostalgia Christmas gatherings past and move on to other things.
I have a new story to share with you that challenged me. It is a once-upon-a-time story told by William Muehl in his book, "Why Preach? Why Listen?"
On a December afternoon, a group of parents stood in the lobby of a nursery school waiting to claim their children after the last pre-Christmas class.
As the youngsters ran from their classroom, each one carried "The Surprise" inside the brightly wrapped packages on which they had been working diligently for weeks.
One small boy, trying to run, put on his coat and wave to his parents all at the same time, slipped and fell. "The Surprise" flew from his grasp, landed on the floor and broke with an obvious ceramic crash.
The child began to cry inconsolably. His father, trying to minimize the incident and comfort the boy, patted his head and murmured, "Now, that's alright son. It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter at all."
But the child's mother swept the boy into her arms and said, "Oh, it does matter. It matters a great deal." And she wept with her son.
This Christmas, as we celebrate together the birth of the Son of God, we should wonder, "How can I welcome in my life the changes that really do matter?"
We must then act on these changes and become a part of something that we all desire, such as peace, harmony and good will toward all.
These are the things the prophet Isaiah dreamed of with God for Israel, and they can be our dreams when we choose to no longer be spectators to the great Christmas Miracle.
We can visit it all year long and allow the miracle to truly become a part of us. It is a precious truth that, as St. Luke wrote about Mary, we too can daily "treasure all these things in our hearts."
The first step we can take in our New Year's journey is to go to a church of your choice on Christmas Day and be prepared to hear once again all of the Christmas story.
Churches are waiting to welcome you and to listen with you. I know I can't wait to hear the story again with our congregation because I know it really does matter.
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Father Ken Parks is rector of St. Theodore Episcopal Church in Bella Vista. He can be reached by email to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 12/25/2013