10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (italics mine)
Do not feel guilty about enjoying good things at Christmas. This day is holy to our Lord. And send some to those who have nothing. This day is holy to our Lord. Does this sound obvious, trite? It is obvious. It is trite. Yet somehow we don't keep the points close enough to our hearts and have to be reminded of one or the other every year. It may be that our impoverished minds cannot hold both thoughts together, one always pushing out the other.
God is like Old Fezziwig in Dickens.
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From Patheos a few years back:
As snacks were served, a child asked if Dmitri liked his donuts plain or with sprinkles. With a straight face, the scholarly archbishop explained that he had theological reasons — based on centuries of church tradition — for preferring donuts with icing and sprinkles.
A parent in the back of the room whispered: “Here we go.” Some of the children giggled, amused at the sight of the bemused bishop holding up a colorful pastry as if he was performing a ritual.
“In Orthodoxy, there are seasons in which we fast from many of the foods we love,” he said. “When we fast, we should fast. But when we feast, we should truly feast and be thankful.” Thus, he reasoned, with a smile, that donuts with sprinkles and icing were “more Orthodox” than plain donuts.
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