Lights! Action!

In 1928, my romantic Dad (Herman) married a farm girl from Kansas. They moved to the panhandle of Oklahoma, far from the rich black soil of central Kansas. Far from the Suderman home-farm. Anna Daisy was homesick as the days grew shorter and colder. She remembered Christmas celebrations-past. A tree, cut from the field, would stand in the parlor. Beside it stood a bucket of water and sand in case of a fire. On Christmas Eve, the candles were lit and the children listened to the story of the birth of Jesus from Luke 2, the flames of the candles reflected in their eyes as they listened in wonder. Those were the memories Anna Daisy held dear.

Anna Daisy did not know what a resourceful man she had married. Herman brought a Christmas tree, cut down in the field, and set it up near the living room window. Electric lights, or fairy lights they were first called, were placed on the tree. Then on Christmas Eve Herman parked the Model T Ford near the window. He attached the wires of the Christmas lights to the battery of the car.

I can imagine the pure joy Anna Daisy felt that night, to see lights on the tree and the love they represented from her new husband. Even more, she thought about the star that shone on that dark night, filling sky with the light of the world. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

People through the ages are drawn to the Light of the World. The Light that signifies Hope and Peace. The Light that brightens our way in this dark world.

Today we are confronted with an overdose of lights in the name of Christmas and become a tool for marketing, and truly becomes a Holiday. Not a celebration of the birth of the Christ Child, but the ‘cha-ching’ of the driving force of commerce.

When someone asks if I am ready for Christmas, I search my heart for readiness – not in a material sense but a spiritual sense. When did the advent become encumbered with man’s ingenuity with electricity? I still recall in 1930’s going to Grandpa and Grandma Suderman’s and watching as the lamb on the table was ‘trimmed’ and shadows grew in the dining room.

Laying the history of lights against family, I learned that when the first electrically powered lights in England’s Theater were introduced in 1881, my Great Grandfather Jacob Suderman was 40 years old. In 1848, my Great Grandmother, Aganetha Wiens Suderman was six year old when Windsor Castle in England had its first illuminated tree. When Justina Leppke Loewen, my great Grandmother was 1 year old, Christmas Trees were first sold at Tree Lots. A year before, 1856, the first lighted tree appeared on the White House Lawn. When my Grandmother, Anna Loewen Suderman, born in 1880, two years later, Edward Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison handcrafted the first incandescent bulbs. In 1890, seven years before Ed’s mother, Ruth Olive Starkey was born, candle holders were made for Christmas candles. In 1902 – 1914 Small lanterns and glass bowls were made to hold candles. Dad (Herman) 1903 and Mom (Anna Daisy) 1907. When Mom was one year old Insurance Companies would not pay for fires that began with Christmas trees.

Now, imagine a quiet, dark hillside. The only light comes from a myriad stars in the skies and a campfire. The shepherds were lulled on the edge of sleep by the lowing of the contented sheep about them. Then they saw a star shining more brightly than any of the others. What could this be? I can hear them asking each other questions.

Suddenly….And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:9 -14

God set the stage for the coming of his One and Only Son with angels and lights as only He can do with His own creation. The lights He fashioned with His own hands. They were not made by man, the lights that need electrical power and tend to ‘burn out’.

Have you ever walked in pitch black or sat alone just wondering what would come next in your life? Just as the shepherds said, “Let us go find this thing that the Lord has told us about.” Follow the Light of the World!

Next time we see a Christmas Tree, or a house decorated, or an artfully decorated business, what do we see with our hearts? Man’s achievements? To out-decorate your neighbor’s house is not celebrating Christmas. Or do we see Jesus, The Light of the World?

Recently I heard the song, The First Christmas Gift. The lyrics of the chorus are this: “The first Christmas gift came from above,
wrapped in starlight, tied with love, given with joy, 
A sweet baby boy, a gift for you and me.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no5WRn5T7lY&feature=related