How the Virus Stole Christmas

Everyone in the church,
We liked Christmas a lot...

But the virus, which lurked in the shadows
Did Not!
The fear of the virus was now known to all,
And it forced to stay home, the tall and small.

Advent started, as bleak as the rest.
The world was focused on masks and on tests.
Locked down in their homes, frightened and tired.
Hugs and potlucks and singing together was all they desired.

Staring out from our caves with our sour, Grinchy frowns,
We sensed the depression and loss in our towns. 

“It’s over,” was echoed on each pair of lips,
“No planning church service and after church sips of coffee and tea.

And we growled, our fingers all nervously drumming,
“This virus will surely stop Christmas from coming!”

For on Christmas we know, none of us would do rather,
Than wake bright and happy - to church we would gather!

And then! Oh, the noise! Joyful Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That’s the best part of Christmas! The Great Joyful NOISE!
And they’d feast! And they’d Feast! And they’d FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! 

We’d celebrate Jesus, the birth of God’s son
The great, the humble, the only one.
And then we’d do something we like most of all,
Everyone in our churches, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with candles, bells ringing,
Hold hands in a circle, and all would start singing!

And we’d sing! And we’d sing! And we’d SING! SING! SING! SING!

And the more we all thought of this great Christmas Sing,
The more we thought, “How can we skip this whole thing?
Why, as long as remembered the church has been open!
There doesn’t seem anything left to have hope in.”

“Christmas can’t happen this year,” the world proclaimed.
“Online and at home, it just won’t be the same.”
All our windows were dark, and a funk filled the air.
We were slipping and sinking in deep, deep despair.
We got stuck on that thought, for a moment or two.
And we pondered if God would really come through.

The darkness kept spreading, continued to grow.
Cause hope, in a crisis, is the first thing to go!

And we slithered and slunk, with smiles most unpleasant,
Though we longed for the mercy of God to be present!

“Netflix! And Amazon! Distractions for looking!
Chocolates! And Puzzles! Baking! And Cooking!”

And we stuffed our hope down. The virus, was winning,
Our belly’s and even our heads were all spinning!

The death toll was rising. We all felt so scared.
The loss touched our families, We weren’t prepared!

So on knees bent so deep we went back to the Lord.
“Give us hope through this darkness, give us faith through your word!”

Advent 1, 2, 3, 4, the days came and went.
The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.
The world woke Christmas Eve and nothing had changed.
The virus still menaced, the people, estranged.
“Pooh pooh to the saints,” the world was grumbling.
“They’re finding out now that no Christmas is coming.
“They’re just waking up! We know just what they’ll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
And then all the saints will all cry boo-hoo.
“That noise,” said the world, “will be something to hear.”
So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.

And the world heard a sound coming through all the skies.
It started down low, then it started to rise.
But the sound wasn’t depressed.
Why, this sound was triumphant!
It couldn’t be so!
But it grew with abundance!
The world stared around, popping its eyes.
Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!

Every saint in every nation, the tall and the small,
Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!
It hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming! It came!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
Through God’s grace and mercy, it came just the same!

“It came without choirs!  Without church doors open!”
“It came because NEW LIFE is what we have hope in!”

And we laughed at our doubts, sang till voices were sore.
Then we all thought of something we hadn’t before!

That we don’t need to join hands or meet face to face.
Cause the church is a people, connected by grace.

And the virus, still looming in all of the land,
Is no match for the power of God’s mighty hand.

And the world with its life quite stuck in quarantine
Stood puzzling and puzzling.
“Just how can it be?”
“It came without parties, without large dinners,
It came without white elephant gift exchanges, just with the glimmers
Of hope that this isn’t the end but a new beginning.
That a God stays a friend against the trend.
That God doesn’t depend on extended worship services in-person
And intends to transcend any suspended season.
Then the world thought of something it hadn’t before.
“Maybe Christmas,” it thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
Maybe Christmas is to make do when the world is in change,
When plans fall through and we need to arrange ourselves with a virus to save lives.
Maybe Christmas is to hope without seeing the reason.
And to cope with a season that feels like a treason.

And what happened then?
Well....the story’s not done.
What will YOU do?
Will you share with that one
Or two or more people needing hope in this night?
Will you share the source of your life in this fight?
Will you sing carols over the phone?
Will you pray for the people who are alone?
Will you send postcards and cookies across the country
And to your neighbor down the street
That no one’s soul goes hungry under the tree.

Will you trust that God became flesh
Meaning a fresh start with his mensch.
Will you feel how Mary and Joseph felt?
Abandoned, lonely, exhausted and held?
Held by a God they couldn’t grasp
Who put them in a position that made them gasp.
Far away from the people they loved
Surrounded by shepherds
who shoved away an ox and an ass.
It certainly seemed like an impasse.
Until they started seeing what they had.
A child, new friends, some milk, not bad.
There was hope and love and a star so bright.
There was light in the night despite the fight
To survive.

And today?
Our churches and houses are quiet.
No family gatherings, no need for a diet after the feast.
Or maybe even so since we can’t share the pie.
And before it goes bad we might as well try eating it all
And buy a second for the unhoused guy.
And stop denying the misery around us.
The people struggling to pay rent, no think of a present for the kids.
The people bent down from poverty.
Maybe, Jesus was born in poverty intentionally?
Maybe, this is the year to wonder why?
And look up in the sky and reply with a cry.
Yes, onto us a child is born. Christ the Savior is here.
Let’s honk every horn and light every tree.
A baby will save us from all our sins.
It wins over our fatigue, our depression, our regression.
Over our lack of compassion after too many months.
It comes and smiles and cries and screams
And wakes us up to God’s dreams
For the world. For justice and peace to increase.
For poverty and fear to decease forever.
No driving from place to place
Just some days spent at our home base
In our own pace to embrace this Christmas.
To welcome God into this world
The word of truth that became human
Illuminating darkness forever.
Because Jesus is victor over death, doom, and gloom.
Because Jesus takes room in our hearts.

So this year at Christmas, let this be our prayer,
As the virus still rages all around, everywhere.
May the world see hope when it looks at God’s people.
May the world see the church is not a building or steeple.
May the world find Faith in Jesus’ birth in a manger,
May the world find Joy in a time of danger.
May the world see a friend in the stranger.
May 2020 be known as the year of survival,
But not only that -
Let it start a revival!
Amen.