Always Winter, Never Christmas

by Jason Kramme

One of the greatest joys of parenthood has been witnessing the joy of Christmas in my kids. There is one video of my older son that my wife and I come back to often where he tells us a magical story of how he heard Santa and Rudolph delivering his new sled in the middle of the night.

It just warms my heart! Or, thaws my heart, maybe.

Many of you are probably familiar with C.S. Lewis’ book series The Chronicles of Narnia. The series follows the lives of four young children as they venture into a magical world called Narnia. The world they discover is covered in snow. It is cold, frozen, and oppressed.

The children come to find out that Narnia has been stuck this way for many years because of an evil White Witch who has cursed it. The inhabitants of Narnia are not without hope, however, as they speak of a lion, Aslan, who will one day break the curse and free all of Narnia.

C.S. Lewis was a late convert to Christianity and in his other writing noted that his pathway to faith in Christ was slow, spanning many years. He depicted this transformation in the way that Narnia thawed as it came to believe and trust Aslan, the great lion, and a metaphor for Jesus.

The main characters of the Chronicles of Narnia are kids who, like my own kids, demonstrate wonder, curiosity, and an openness to hope when life seems dark. In the film adaptations of the books that were recently released by Disney, a moment of child-like wonder is almost always accompanied by a drip of water or a rushing stream.

A lot of us feel like the Narnians this time of year. Always winter, never Christmas. With this persistent pandemic and all of the regular pressures of life, it can be hard to hold out hope and easy for our faith to be frozen in place. That is why I think that we should take C.S. Lewis’ advice and keep our eye and our attention on our children. Join in their wonder as they imagine far-off worlds with new toys. Echo their joy as they play in the snow. Hold their love as the draw close at the end of the day.

Don’t just take Lewis’ or my word for it, either. Listen to Jesus. In a world that was short on hope, he, too pointed the adults to the children.

^“13-16 The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.” – Mark 10:13-16

May we do the same.

Jason serves as the Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Stewardship