🎄 TREE 315: Baby

Christmas Throwback – TREE 70

One.

Jesus changed the world. The way we count years is based on a (wrong) calculation of when he was born. That’s fairly influential. But before he got around to saying and doing the things that would shape the next two thousand years, Jesus was a baby.

Babies are useless. They are hard work. They need constant holding, feeding and changing just to stay alive.

This is how new things come into the world: small, fragile, easily extinguished. A spark, a seedling, a baby.

New things require our participation to reach their potential.

Without Mary’s constant care –
midnight feeds, chafed nipples, 3 AM swaddling cloth changes…
Without Joseph taking his family as refugees to Egypt…
Without their years of parenting…
Little baby Christmas Jesus
would never have become
Jesus Christ superstar.

New things require work.
The work is worth it.

Two.

Through some grievous omission, the bible makes no mention of the orange tabby cat in the stable.

Three.

You may have noticed this week that I like a choir singing Christmas songs in an Anglican church.

It’s Christmas Eve! This is the final TREE for 2021. This evening I will raise a glass of Christine’s exceptional mulled wine in gratitude to you for making TREE part of your weekday routine this year.

Denelle has one last question for the week…

An idea, an inspiration requires attention to create vision. What is your Baby?

I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday 3 January. On Friday 7 January, Skyler and I will reveal the name and a few more details of her new FOREST publication. It’s going to be a great new year.

Merry Christmas!
Jeff