The Day After

Christmas was wonderful at our house. The kids got more than enough toys and they have been playing since. We got two new games for the Wii. Toy Story Mania and Lego Rock Band. They were both fun and my youngest learned a new song while I was playing Lego Rock Band. “We will, We Rocky.” I need to record her singing it because it is so freakin’ cute. Just in case you haven’t heard of the song it is actually We Will Rock You by Queen. The kids enjoyed playing Toy Story Mania and kept talking about being at Disney Land. I remember when we went on that ride the line was forever long and they didn’t have a fast pass for it. We waited for like 2 hours and had to make multiple bathroom breaks at points where it is easy to get in and out of the line. Finally as we neared the front of the line the baby fell asleep. They wouldn’t let me hold him facing me during the ride so I had to sit him on my lap. He slept through all of that and the first few sections of the ride. On this ride you are in carts that are back to back. Ride goes along and might spin a bit then turns to face a giant screen. There is a “popper” gun and you shoot targets on the screen with the Toy Story theme. There is a dart throw, ring toss, ball toss … I didn’t get the best score because I was holding a sleeping baby for half the ride. He woke up at some point and looked around with a real “what the crap?” look on his face.

Imagine what it would be like being a baby. You have no control over where you go. Even after you start crawling and walking bigger people can just pick you up and move you around. You might fall to sleep being held and wake up in a crib or many other freaky things that are beyond your control. You might fall asleep surrounded by people and wake up in front of a giant TV with weird sounds and puffs of smoke, air, water going off in your face.

I wrote yesterday about the incarnation, a fancy word for “God becoming a man.” I talked about how Jesus had everything, was everything and gave it all up to become nothing. That was powerful and amazing but it wasn’t a one day event. Jesus continued to be nothing fo about 33 years until he died as nothing, mocked for trying to teach Love and the way to Life.

I wonder about the days after his birth. Joseph is going around town talking to the same friends and family that wouldn’t let the pariah couple stay while Mary was pregnant. Would any react differently? Would he be able to get a job and settle in with his family? Mary continued to wrap little Jesus tightly and put him to sleep in a feeding trough until they got a place to stay. About two years later little Jesus got a visit by some strange men wearing shiny clothes. Did he try to play with the buttons? Did he try to eat them? Did it frustrate him when Mary put him down for a nap? One the long trip to Egypt as they fled the wrath of Herod did Jesus get bored?

Do you ever think about that sweet baby Jesus being God and what that all means?