"Now what do you say?" (John 8:5)

John 7:53-8:11 is a familiar passage about a woman who is caught in adultery and brought before Jesus by the Pharisees so they could trap Him and have a basis for accusing Him. They said that the Law of Moses required she be stoned, and they wanted to know what Jesus was going to advise.

Frankly, this is hardly the type of passage I would choose to read to prepare myself for Christmas. I don't recall adultery, stoning, and entrapment being the gifts from the three wise men or even making up any of the elements of the song "Twelve Days of Christmas." But when I think of Christmas, humility and understatement are traits that do come to mind.

In this reading, when Jesus is approached by the Pharisees and challenged to provide an answer, He does not puff Himself up, step forward and bellow out a response. Instead, He bends down and starts writing on the ground, which I'm sure confounded those watching Him. When they continued pelting Him with questions, Jesus finally stood up and simply stated, "If any of you is without sin, throw the first stone." Then He stooped down and went back to writing. I recall from another source that Jesus was actually writing in the dirt the sins of the others in the crowd who were ready to pounce. If you recall from the story, after writing for awhile longer Jesus stands up to see that everyone had left Him and the woman. Each of the condemners realizing their own foibles left them alone. It's the essence of understatement, but packed a wallop of comeuppance.

When I think of the things I don't like about Christmas, big, bold, brashness come to mind. How much money can we spend on "stuff" so we have the best of whatever to impress people that we often don't even care for?! Some of my favorite times around Christmas are sitting in a darkened room lit only by the lights of our Christmas tree (which I have to admit is often big, bold and brash, but that is Kathy's fault because the tree always has to be "bigger!") and listening to an artist like Nat King Cole singing a Christmas carol. That's also why I cherish the Christmas Eve service at Center Church. Surrounded by family and friends, in a darkened church singing Christmas carols - it almost feels like we're in an upscale manger watching the Child being born again.

I can't speak for others, but for me life seems to be speeding up as each year passes. As technology continues to advance at lightening speeds, there seems to be more things to bombard our senses, leaving us with no place to hide and always having to respond to someone or something. It feels like there are fewer chances to be still, quiet, meditate, pray or just be. Fortunately, God has provided me with numerous reminders of the beauty of Christmas that comes in the most basic of packages - picking out a tree, cleaning the seven fish for Christmas Eve dinner, or watching the DVD Elf with Kathy and the kids. These are things I've treasured about Christmas for years.

I am also thankful that God has given me the ability to grow as a person and learn to become more tolerant of those that may be different from me. At times, He has given me the ability to slow things down and see what is happening behind the bright lights and glitz. I realize that this is still a work in progress and pray that Jesus gives me the strength to grow into a person deserving of all of the blessings He has provided.

~Dave DeLuca