Timothy J. Pruitt's Blog, page 66
December 12, 2022
Red And Green Giving
The store opened at eight, and the first customer was the doorman for the apartments next door. Far from cold, in his heavy green coat, Mr Frost purchased two gifts, one red box, and one green one. He placed a gift in each box with a card attached to the outside. The cards he had prepped the night before.
The next stop was the diner. He ate a quick breakfast, left a tip for the waitress, and the red gift with another customer, while they weren’t looking. Mrs Hollis was the happy recipient, and read the card with joy.
“This little gift is for you, but the box is not. It’s meant for you to refill with a different gift, and pass along to someone else. I’ve supplied the first giftbox of your day, the red one. Your challenge is to give two gifts today, one red in a borrowed box, and a green one in a box you pick to end your day. Will the gift giving stop with you, or will you keep the Christmas cheer going this first day of winter?”
“What a neat idea!” The retired schoolteacher thought. She hadn’t had any real plans beyond breakfast, but now, she had a mission. Since the little store was close to the diner, she bought two gifts, and a green box.
The first gift was easy, she’d give it to Mr Desmond the bus driver. She would put it on the seat when he wasn’t looking. Who to give the second gift too? That was the question.
She took a picture of the little card with her phone, and attached it to the gift box. For the second gift she copied it down word for word. It was an act that would be repeated literally hundreds of times that day.
By the end of her day, she chose to give the second gift to the doorman in her building. He smiled warmly, and thanked her gratefully. Mrs Hollis felt a little guilty, knowing the man wouldn’t have time to repeat the cycle.
She had to edit the wording on the second card, it being a green box rather than a red one. Because of this, the message was more personal, expressing appreciation for the doorman’s kindness every day. Mrs Hollis hadn’t been alone in personalizing the message of the second gift.
All of those who continued the acts of red and green giving followed a similar pattern. Mr Desmond gave the red box to his dispatcher, but the green box went to Officer Calloway where Mr Desmond had stopped for dinner at a little Mexican restaurant. Officer Calloway deposited his red package at a coffee shop, and left the green one outside Mr Huang’s accounting office.
It was the first day of winter, December 21 that year, and bitter cold. Normally the city would be filled with short tempers, sneezing, and hurried people, but not that day. Instead the city found itself decorated in red and green, and were far happier for it.
Mr Frost, the doorman laughed as he handed his red clad friend the last little green box. They met on the roof for coffee. “Jack, it looks like you’ve had a great first day of winter. As always you shared more than a nip in the air my friend.”
“It’s not around the world in a night, but it’s a great way to start the winter. The city needed just a little more than icecicles this year. It needed to warm a few hearts, even with a chill in the air.”
With that, the man in red went back to his toy shop, and Mr Frost the doorman changed clothes. He traded a green overcoat, for a more familiar blue outfit as Jack Frost vanished with the winter wind.
December 11, 2022
December 10, 2022
December 9, 2022
An Apple For Christmas
I must admit I’d never thought of an apple as extremely Christmasy, since then I found out that the French in the Alsace region, and people in China would disagree. For the French, the tradition stems back to around 1521, where Christkindel apples, also known as Pomme de Noel, were used to decorate Christ trees, or Christmas trees. Legend has it that in 1850, due to a shortage of the apples, artisans began making the glass ornaments we know today.
For China, it is tied to language. The word Apple in Chinese is 苹果 (píngguǒ) and Christmas Eve in Chinese is often called 平安夜 (Píng’ān yè, literally meaning safe night). Some say the word for Christmas Eve comes from the carol Silent Night. I find it ironic that a fruit we so often associate with the fall of man, others associate with The Christ child.
While Genesis doesn’t say the forbidden fruit was an apple, it’s what comes to mind for most people. Yet in certain areas of the world, instead of the tragedy of Genesis, they see the Miracle of The Nativity. What a beautiful transformation this is! It’s a reminder that everything changed on that Silent Night.
It was silent in the sense that the world was sleeping, mostly unaware of what was happening. However, a few took notice. They say that Christkindel apples aren’t produced on a large scale in France, even for commercial use. Instead, local growers raise enough for their own consumption and decoration. Those who took the time to plant reaped, just like on that night.
The people who experienced Jesus had invested something in at least paying attention to God’s announcement. The Shepherds were awake, watching over sheep, and responded to the angel. Mary and Joseph waited with great love for The Child that was about to be born. While the Wisemen would actually arrive later, they were paying enough attention to notice the star.
The thing about apples in desserts is that the apple goes through a process. Whether it’s cooked on the stove with sugar, baked in a pie shell, or folded into a cake, a transformation occurs. The peel is removed to reveal what is inside. Christ would pull back the curtain of Heaven to reveal God’s plan for salvation.
It does strike me that the Chinese word for apple uses two Chinese characters, whereas Christmas Eve uses three. When Christ entered the world, He added the component no mere man could add. Mankind was present, and like our general impression of the apple, our sins were evident but God brought hope.
Just as I hope these facts will rewrite your view of the apple, The Lord Jesus rewrote our stories. His hope outshined our helplessness. He made it possible for all of us to be transformed. To be reborn, not as part of a fallen family, but as children of a loving God.
Bishop Livingston used to say the problem wasn’t the apple on the tree, it was the pair on the ground. With the birth of Jesus, The Lord gave us all a chance to change our stories through His love. To choose a new path, and grow into something totally different than how we began. This is the promise of Christmas!
