Today the Liturgical Christmas season ends. I pray that this fable, this parable helps us reflect on the awesome gift we celebrate.
Soren Kierkegaard famous “The Story of the King and the Maiden” is a fable about a king who fell in love with a maiden. The King asked his counselors "How shall I declare my love?" They answered, "Your majesty has only to appear in all the glory of your royal glory before the maiden's humble dwelling and she will instantly fall at your feet and be yours."
That approach troubled the king. He wanted her glorification, not his. He wanted his love for her returned from her freely. After thinking about it the king realized love's truth, that freedom for the beloved demanded equality with the beloved. Late one night, after all the counselors of the palace had retired, he slipped out a side door and appeared before the maiden's cottage dressed as a servant.
The fable is the Christmas story in the form of a parable. We are called to obey not God's power, but God's love. God wants not submission to his power, but our love in return for His love, He first loved us. The little baby, smelly straw, the silence, the star, the humble shepherds in awe of their King. The baby’s cry is God’s cry in human form calling us to follow Him to true selves.
Could it be? Yes, Joy is born God has come to be with us!
[Adopted by Deacon George Kelly from Sermons.Com - James T. Garrett, God’s Gift, CSS Publishing Company]
May God Be Praised.
Alleluia. Amen.
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