Meetings can provide a serendipitous moment when the group gels in their thinking and move as a unit toward a common goal; recently I went to lunch with someone and there was - for me - a sense serendipity - I found value in the conversation.
Christmas lends itself to serendipity. I mean, look at the original story: shepherds go about a "normal" night's work and suddenly something happens to make their world anything but normal! The whole thing - the way the story unfolds, the location for the event, the timing ... it all displays God's gift of serendipity.
In Christmas gatherings, serendipity can just occur (because of the Reason we are gathering) or they can be manufactured. The "manufactured" kind of serendipity doesn't necessarily have to mean that it is false or superficial - it just means someone PLANNED to throw some value into the mix.
This is what happened at a gathering I was involved in last week.
One of the smaller hospitals with which I am associated has an annual Senior Citizens Breakfast to sort of kick off the Christmas season each year. Physicians and hospital staff work extra hard to serve these local citizens with a great breakfast, some inspiring Christmas music and a visit from Santa.
I have been a participant in the event's choir from time to time and I had the opportunity to sing this week. No matter how much preparation has gone on ahead of time, the choir is always filled with last minute possibilities: this year, the musician phoned the night before to say they couldn't make it and about ten minutes before time to sing, there were only about five singers present.
Nurses were quickly recruited to sing as well as other people that just looked as if they might enjoy singing -or at least appearing to sing - Christmas Carols with a group.
The program is unapologetically Christmas - right down to the reading of the Christmas story from St. Luke's Gospel. Some of us really pasty white people even waxed a little soulful as we sang "Go Tell It On The Mountain!".
Finally it was time for Santa Claus. The deal is that Santa has always come in, done something funny and handed out gifts to all the attendees. This tradition has gone on for years and until recent years, Santa was portrayed by a local physician who was well known to all in the area. Since his retirement, a gentleman has taken over. This guy has also been associated with the hospital for many years and his own father was a professional Santa Claus (what a career!!).
This guy has a great "stand-up" delivery and he is always a hit with some Jerry Clower style stories and some inspiration.
This year he got me with a story about a 92 year old man who had recently died and how as an orphan in the early 1900's, he had been given his greatest Christmas gift - an orange.
That's a great story and left a lump in my throat that felt to be the size of that orange - but the real serendipity came as he begin to talk about "fears" people were facing this Christmas:
- for some, they were fearful that guests would be disappointed somehow in the meals they would prepare for various gatherings
- some would be fearful that gift selections would be incorrect
- the discouragement of these economic times would leave many afraid
- many are afraid about the future
- some - he said - have friends or relatives that they are not speaking to . . . they would like to take a step to reconcile that relationship but they are afraid...afraid of rejection.
Then he indicated that they needed the very first GIFT of the Christmas story and he began to quote from Luke's account....
. . . and the angel of the LORD appeared unto them and the GLORY of the LORD shone round about them - and they were sore afraid; but the angel said unto them
FEAR NOT!....
The first message of the first Christmas, and the first Christmas gift was when the angel said "do not be afraid".
That is something of great value to me this Christmas.
I hope that you will find that first gift valuable as well,
and may all your Christmas gatherings hold some possibility for serendipity!
1 comment:
You always see the neatest things in every situation!
Al
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