Petty little Christmas

During prayer this evening it struck me that practically everything about Christmas is to do with normal, everyday little things.  There's nothing extraordinarily big or huge that is in play for Christmas.  The original Christmas itself is all about, the star, the manger, the shepherds, the wise men, petty politics of power and rule, strenuous journey, Bethlehem itself being a place of little renown.  Even the gifts the three kings/wise men brought were something of a teaser and not really hugely costly.  I'm sure the costliest of the three, gold would have been a bit of it.  Certainly not a crown or a huge brick!  That would have been used to buy some tools or wood in Joseph's carpentry shed.  Most important of all, and at the centre of it all is a little, helpless, infant.  Not a mighty king or ruler, not a celebrity.  Not any wealthy family.  A mere young couple far away from home and perfectly homeless in a strange town.  Just a little baby boy. 

The liturgy of the celebration today too is simple.  It does not have the intricacies of the Easter vigil.  At the most, joyful songs.  People are not hugely worried about big things.  All across the world it is a time when families gather together, especially for a family meal.  Holidays.  Gifts for one another.  Petty little things, with and for one another.

Wish we retain the same spirit: petty, little Christmas!