Blessings, Christmas peace to you all

Earlier this month I found myself in a spirited debate with my preacher about what time of year it was when the birth of Jesus actually occurred.

I opted for the late winter early springtime version when shepherds would have been closely watching flocks nearby because of the birth of new lambs. He was arguing earlier. We both wisely backed off when the discussion started to break down calendars. He had me at a disadvantage and knew it.

I am, for the most part, a contrary sort. I’m not sure if this new preacher has caught on to that yet or has just labeled me a troublemaker. He’ll soon figure it out though, and if he doesn’t read this column he may even eventually figure out I really don’t care what month Jesus’ birth occurred in. I was mostly just pulling his chain.

I don’t care whether it was summer or dead of winter. What matters to me is that prophets for centuries foretold his birth and he came to Earth and lived as a man to lift us all from the burden of sin; sin we can’t escape any other way but through Jesus.

In our mind we like to think it was a cold winter night on which he was born. Maybe it was and maybe what is important is to build that scene in our own mind the way we want to think of it. If we clear out the clutter and concentrate on what the birth meant, the picture will be beautiful.

One of my best Christmas memories is one year when we lived in Carbondale, Colorado. We had gone to a live nativity put on at one of the local ranches. Now, not everyone in Carbondale was big on Jesus but that night those gathered there were.

I’ve been to quite a few living nativity events over the years but that one touched me because of the sheer peace of the moment.

The temperature was very close to zero that evening and still we ventured out. Living in Colorado, it didn’t seem like that big a deal. We all knew where the wool socks and long underwear were stored.

The livestock involved were so calm that evening you had to look close to make sure they were real. The only compromise that evening was the doll wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of a real infant.

After the Christmas story was read, the best part of the evening was the silent night as the crowd spent a long time in peaceful contemplation without a word.

I express it every Christmas but I’ll say it again this year. My prayer of blessing for you and your family is for that of peace at Christmas — quiet moments with those you love most, reconciliation with those you should be loving and mostly the peace that passes all understanding, which comes only from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas friends.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at: [email protected]