The trees point to the cross

On Christmas Eve, Holy Family Catholic Church was filled with about 500 people, all festively dressed for the Christmas celebration. The altar was beautifully decorated with seasonal greenery, poinsettias, and twinkling lights. On this silent night on Hilton Head Island, “all is bright”.

Except there is an odd juxtaposition of two Christian symbols. The evergreen trees are one, a symbol of life even in the coldest and darkest winter. This makes evergreen the perennial symbol for Christmas. It helps that the Christmas trees point skyward, toward both our heavenly destination and the divine origin of our savior. In this sanctuary, however, the trees are dwarfed by the preeminent Christain symbol, an image of the crucified Jesus. The trees appeared to be pointing not toward our heavenly home, but toward this giant crucifix.

It’s an odd combination, with festive colors below and the image of a tortured man above. At first glance, it feels like a contradiction. What do the bloody hands and feet of this giant corpus have to do with our Christmas celebration? After giving it a little thought the answer is, “Everything.” The trees in reality may be pointing toward our heavenly home, but to get there the path needs to go through the cross. On Christmas eve, it is easy to pretend life is going to be filled with sugar plum fairies and the like, but that will only last for so long.

The trials will come. In this miraculous birth, Jesus was born homeless. Immediately after the birth, Mary and Joseph had to flee to a foreign country, refugees running from the evil machinations of King Herod. Life in the poor little village of Nazareth was an ongoing challenge in survival. Ultimately, the religious and political leaders turned against Jesus and put him to death.

Without the Savior’s birth, there would be no cross. Without the cross, suffering would be without meaning and hope. As individuals, we can focus on just the cross or focus on just the trees. But it’s best to focus on both. The trees celebrate God entering this world and making it holy. The cross celebrates God’s ultimate sacrifice, to make us holy. Only the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus combined can make this a reality.

The glow of our Christmas celebrations will fade. Most of us will return to a workaday world sometimes dominated by dysfunction, division, and pain. We could leave it at that, or we could recognize that what we celebrated at Christmas is part of a larger story of salvation. The trees point toward our heavenly destination, but to arrive, we’ll need to pass through some difficulties. The birth is just the beginning of our journey. The cross reminds us that whatever we face, Emmanuel, “God is with us”, to lead us through to a glorious destination.