Christmas Wine

Well, here we are. It is almost Christmas again. Like most men, or at least those in my circles, I strongly dislike the shopping part of Christmas although I love being out and about enjoying the spirit of it all. My outdoor lights have been up since early November thanks mainly to my wife. I hope you are getting into the mood about now.

Christmas of course, is first of all, a celebration of the birth of Jesus even though most scholars would agree that he was almost certainly not born on Dec 25th. From what I have gathered though, Jesus would be the first one to enjoy celebrating with family and friends around a dinner table, a Christmas tree or party. After all he was enjoying the festivities at a wedding reception when he performed his first miracle. In those days, and even in some cultures today, wedding celebrations lasted for several days. For those of you who don’t know this story, you might be surprised what the miracle was. Well, would you believe that the worst thing possible happened. They ran out of wine. That would have been so humiliating and embarrassing for the hosts of the party. Not wanting to see the party end, Jesus had several large containers filled with water and he turned them into wine, actually the best wine of the celebration so the guests said. In those days they saved the cheap wine until the end when the people didn’t know the difference. People at this party actually commented about how unusual it was for the best wine to be left until the end.

Maybe this Christmas you might consider turning someone’s hum drum Christmas into something special and help them celebrate as well. I hope that this Christmas you will join me in changing your focus outward instead of thinking only of ourselves and our needs. There are lots of charities out there that could use any assistance you can give them whether it be financially or as a volunteer. One of them I contribute to on a yearly basis is The Salvation Army. I am not a part of that organization in any way but I know that they do great work especially at Christmas. After all Christmas is more about giving than receiving. If you haven’t tried reaching out to the less fortunate at Christmas you have missed a huge part of what it is all about.

So Yes, I am going to remember the real reason for the season but I’m also going to have a wonderful time with family and friends. I am so looking forward to seeing my two granddaughters who are 8 and 4 now come down the stairs at my son’s home with eyes like saucers when they see the Christmas tree. I am going to eat turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and turnip casserole with a little wine and celebrate all I can. I hope you and your loved ones do the same.

In conclusion, I would just like to wish everyone who reads this a wonderful family time this year. We should never take our family and friends for granted because there are no guarantees in life. If you don’t have a large family, make someone else a part of your family for a day. Let’s enjoy each other while we have each other. Merry Christmas and all the best for 2012.

Rev. Norman M. Martin
Wedding Officiant.