Article December 19, 2011 Issue

Let's have a 'Mary' Christmas

By Mark Swinney

When I was growing up, I had two very good friends who were twin brothers. We spent our junior high and high school years together and always had a great time. They were Jewish, and they knew that I was a Christian Scientist. In everything, we were quietly supportive of one another, including our religions.

I’ll never forget what happened one December when I came home from college for Christmas. My mother is from Germany, so we opened our gifts, not on Christmas morning, but on Christmas Eve. My two friends didn’t know about this family tradition and happily made a surprise visit on Christmas Eve, right when we were settling down around the tree to open presents. Without missing a beat, we invited them in.

For half a second, they hesitated, then accepted with a smile. We knew them so well that they instantly felt at home. As the evening went along, they had as much fun as we did. I could see in their faces that, besides eating cookies and drinking hot apple cider, they liked basking with us in the glow of the candles in the room and the lights on the tree, which, in a way, represented the great love we all had for one another, and the wonder of God’s love for everyone.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

The heart of Christmas