Growing up, the Charlie Brown “Peanuts” specials were a
household staple. In the Halloween
special, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, Charlie Brown goes
trick-or-treating with all his friends.
While all his friends receive candy and treats, Charlie Brown leaves every
house saying, “I got a rock”.
The Church, in her wisdom, gives us rocks, too. Not for Halloween, but for Christmas! And not just one rock, but three! In the gift of the three rocks, I believe the Church, and our Lord, are trying to communicate a deep truth to us. It is a truth that can help live a life that is deeper in intimacy with the Lord, with greater freedom and greater joy.
The first rock appeared on Christmas Eve, in the sweet Gospel
readings that echo to us from a different Charlie Brown special, as Linus
recites, “For born to you is this day, in the City of David, a savior, Christ
the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto
you. You shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, laying in a manger.”
A manger… A manger, if you don’t
know, is used in a stable or barn to hold feed for animals. As a kid, I used to
help my grandpa shovel feed into the manger for cattle on his farm. In Jesus time, a manger was a rectangular
piece of rock or stone, with the top hollowed out to hold feed for cattle and
other livestock. Of course, that
hollowed out piece of stone worked well as a makeshift crib.
The gift of the second rock appeared on December 26, the
feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, who was stoned to death. Really?
From angels and nativity sets and “Joy to the World” to being stoned to
death? That’s a pretty big transition in
24 hours. Talk about squashing your
Christmas cheer! The final rock appeared
on December 27th. It’s the
gospel account of Peter and John racing to the tomb, bearing witness to the empty
tomb and the risen Jesus.
Three rocks in three days, and a great lesson. God’s desire is to birth new life in us, more
Jesus, into our hearts of stone. When
God births something new in our lives, what comes next is death. New life in Christ, whether it is healing,
desire, hope or anything else, requires death.
It might be death to self, death to expectations, or death to sin, but it
is certain death. And, after that death,
after the pain, after the suffering of letting go of flesh and sin and
worldliness, there is resurrection.
There is life, abundant life.
Peter and John understood what an empty tomb meant. We should too. We suffer not for sufferings own sake, for suffering
is always an evil. We suffer, though,
willingly and joyously for the resurrection- that is the joy that is set before
us.
Good stuff, Mr. K. Good stuff. The analogy of the rocks is perfect because of how ill received Charlie Brown's rocks were - how ill we often receive our rocks. They don't look like much. If anything, they look like a let-down, a curse, an anti-gift. This is good stuff.
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