CHRISTMAS: CHRIST's MAgic in uS

Hiya, all! I am back! Fully charged by a very rushed but satisfying season!

The season started when my little relatives came to visit! They charged into the house and paused only to let me hug them. After a tea of cookies and cakes, they helped me put up my quick-fix Christmas trees. I have two. In my home, I don't put up one Christmas tree as the focal point of the Christmas decorations. I use smaller Christmas trees as decor. In hot, sweaty, equatorial Malaysia, we don't have nice pine trees to use as Christmas trees. We make up for the lack with synthetic quick-fix trees. I got two such types.

One is a red collapsible three-feet high tree made with a long streamer made from tin foil that can be pulled up from the top in seconds! Then you fix the base for the legs and o-la-la, you have a tree up in less than a minute! I set it on a table by the bay windows of my living room framed by off-white curtains. During the day, it catches the light and you can see a shimmering effect through the window. No need for lights!

The other tree is also plastic but in traditional green. But it comes with fibre-optics lighting. You pull the tree out from its long box, spread out its branches, fix the trunk into a square base and plug it in, and the fibre-optics ends light up instantly. The trees were up in a jiffy! What with the busy season and the busy part of the semester (I lecture at a private university), it was the fastest way to create the mood for Christmas!

The little ones loved them and the process of putting them up. They helped to put all the tree decorations I got as presents last year on the tree. When that was done, I played the first carols of the season on the CD deck and we -- the kids and me, while their mothers sat decorously by the side -- started dancing to "Jolly ole' St Nicholas ..... !"

It was a laugh how quickly I got the kids and their mothers into the Christmas spirit -- thanks to two quick-fix Christmas trees!

But, Christmas isn't Christmas without Christ. Sure, Christmas trees, carols and lights help to make the season merry. But, the core spirit of the season wells from that one singular virgin birth of the Man whose name billions of Christians have been carrying over 2000 years. If not for Jesus Christ whose birth Christians celebrate as Christmas, the season would be as any other festive season. It is because of Christ that Christians look every year in Christmas the real reasons for their faith -- the reasons that make us want to put aside all other cares and toils in this season and bring some cheer to others.

That spirit begins with Christ and that is what we, Christians, celebrate at every Christmas. And, no where do we see and enjoy that celebration best than at a Christmas service.

My church (Calvary Church, Kuala Lumpur) held our Christmas service on the Sunday of Dec 23 since Christmas day fell on a Tuesday. We held it in a stadium to accommodate our large numbers -- over 3,000 people. I took my colleague and friend, Swagata, to the service and we both enjoyed it immensely.

It was the most beautiful Christmas service I have experienced in my entire life. Everywhere else Christmas was just trees, tinsel and lights. But, at my church's service the mood was simply what Christmas means -- Christ in our midst, Immanuel!

The backdrop was angels heralding His Name: Jesus! As the worship leaders led, we sang in sincere worship. Children performed a simple play about Christmas. Our Senior Pastor gave a short but pertinent message. The choir sang with the congregation. In my heart, there was a refreshing uplift. Swagata, who was with me, caught it, too.

It is something I will remember for a while: A church in true worship, undistracted by pretentious building and stifling form, free to worship quietly in simplicity, without distracting fanfare. That is a beautiful thing.

Swagata and I then went for a pleasant buffet lunch and had a wonderful time chatting over a good meal.

For three days before Christmas, our church also had night services. I took my neighbours and my brother to the one on Christmas eve. They enjoyed it!

Christmas day was spent with other family members. This Christmas will especially be remembered as the one when one estranged family member was reconciled with the rest.

That is the magic of Christmas. Christ's prompting example that compels us to bring some good to others, and, so, to ourselves, too, in this season. His neverending influence that was birthed in the First Christmas is what makes us do what we do to make Christmas a happy time. Of course, it is something we must do all year round, every day. But, at Christmastime, we have an opportunity to celebrate it without reservation. It's His magic working on through us!

And, it need not be an expensive affair -- as my Christmas wasn't. On Christmas night, I had a neighbour and her son over to join us for dinner. After dinner, we just talked on till midnight. A few days later, I had some other friends whom I hadn't met up with for a while to come over for high tea. We ate, sat around and ate and talked till way past dinner! It didn't cost me much, and I had a wonderful time with family and friends.

That was how I spent Christmas 2007. Looking back, I see a new meaning for what Christmas stands for: Christ's Magic In Us. That's Christmas!

Pictures are of Malaysian-style Christmas trees, Christmas service and relatives and friends at my home. That's me in green sweater with Swagata!