Post-Christmas

Has anyone besides me seen the movie Children of Men? Probably not; it’s one of those Sci-Fi, end of the world type movies that came out a few years ago. The setting is future Great Britain, the birth rate has unexplicibly dropped to zero and the youngest person in the world is 18 years old. In a world without children, the schools and playgrounds are empty and silent, and chaos, fear, and hopelessness reign. In the midst of this dread a young woman finds herself pregnant. A group of idealists are trying to guide her to a secretive group of scientists in hopes that her pregnancy holds the key to the survival of humanity.

True to the genre, the woman’s journey is full of perils, and opposition is everywhere. She delivers her baby in an interment camp and then she and her companion try to escape in the middle of a battle. The sounds of the scene are deafening: explosions, yelling, bullets firing, buildings crumbling. As they try to escape the danger, the baby begins to cry. When the sound of his cry pierces the air, the battle sounds go silent as everyone stops to see and hear the miracle of this baby boy. Seconds later, after the mother and baby pass through safely, the battle quickly resumes, just as intense as before.

I remember sitting in the theatre and gasping as the scene played out. Why, oh why would they continue to fight and wound and kill when they have seen the baby that brings such hope?

That scene has continued to haunt me, especially in this post-Christmas season when I feel myself doing the same thing as the characters in the movie: Christmas is over, back to the daily grind, work to do, tasks to accomplish. I’ve stopped for a few moments to contemplate the glory, hope, and salvation the Incarnation of Christ brings into the world, but now I just return to the battle as if what I’ve seen makes no difference in how I behave.

I wonder what practical steps we can take to ensure that we remember the glories of the season throughout the year and live everyday in light of the Incarnation? What do you do in your life to make sure lofty theological ideals are made flesh in your daily schedule?