Noel

          I put on a Christmas CD this morning and found myself hearing a disorienting mix of jolly songs about Santa and sacred carols about Jesus.  I usually don't even notice and I enjoy both, but the emotional segue is not always intuitive.
          It makes me sad to acknowledge that much of our society needs no transition at all to accomodate both views of this holiday.  The Bethlehem manger inhabited by animals has come to be  perceived as mythological as the North Pole workshop manned by elves.
          Surely the shepherds who heard the angel chorus announcing the miraculous birth of Jesus were awe-inspired and the message the angels delivered motivated them to investigate further.  Leaving their flocks, they journeyed to Bethlehem to see for themselves.  Luke 2:15 says:
          When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
          It inspires me this season to pray that many will be intrigued by the lyrics of a noel and bother to investigate further and find the "myth" to be a life-giving truth.