Christmas Countdown December 16 Good tidings of great joy

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2: 8-11

I have what would seemingly be considered an odd relationship with religion. I was baptized in a Catholic church, my mother's side of the family being Catholic, but I was not raised a Catholic. I never went to mass on Sundays, that's for sure.

I attended a Lutheran grammar school, both for it's close proximity to where we lived and because it wasn't a Chicago public school. At the time, the 1970s, the public school system was not known for it's quality education. Also, my father was from a predominantly Lutheran country, Denmark, so it seemed a Lutheran school would be a logical choice. He was contrary by nature, I think, and so proclaimed atheism.

I understand the comfort religion gives to people, especially in times of personal need. Personally though, I've never felt comfortable attending church services on any kind of a regular basis. A lot of times it seemed to be nothing but empty words I was hearing from the pastor, priest, whoever. I just never felt any strong correlation, while sitting in a service, between church, religion and belief in God.

But I am indeed a believer. I believe in God and I believe Jesus Christ was the son of God. Think about that story, though. Born to a virgin, he was son of man, and son of God. Born in a manger, surrounded by sheep. Visited by three wise men guided by a star. That's a tall tale, and if you give it serious thought rather than accept it with blind faith you may start to disbelieve.

Or not. I know the birth of Jesus is quite a fantastic story. And that's why I like it. It's a marvelous story, the kind that gives people hope and comfort. That's certainly what I feel when I think of the birth story.

I am given hope by those most humble of beginnings for the Christ child and by what we all know what was to come in His life. His teachings and his death, the Crucifixion bringing what was truly a New World Order, a rebirth for man.

So this Christmas Eve, even though I'm not a Catholic, I'll be watching the Pope saying Mass in St. Peter's in Rome. I like seeing the ritual of it all, the spectacle that it is. I'm glad religion exists, usually, even though I don't necessarily derive direct comfort from it. I know it gives comfort to others, and that's enough for me.