“The door is always open.” This line in Bing Crosby’s Christmas carol “Christmas in Killarney” finds its truest expression in the holiday celebrations in the Arab lands.
You find the door open, and your friends are inside awaiting your arrival, though you never called ahead. Their Christmas tree is lit and decorated, and a lovely spread is on the coffee table in their parlor. You are greeted at the door with a smile and kisses on the cheek: the more kisses, the more they value your visit. The traditional holiday greetings ring out: “May you be at peace all year!”
You sit down on the couch and are immediately offered a tiny cup of bitter coffee from an elegant thermos. Next come plates of ma’amoul—holiday cookies stuffed with pistachios, walnuts, or dates. Halfway through your cookie, another plate is offered, piled high with chocolates wrapped in Christmas designs.
You spend the entire week after Christmas going on visit after visit to your extended family, your next-door neighbors, and any friend you can manage to see throughout the country. It is a time to strengthen the relational ties that are the very fabric of life in the Arab lands.
This focus on the importance of relationships has enriched my celebration of Christmas, as I see in it the heart of God. Jesus didn’t come to earth to bring a new philosophy or a new economic system or a reformed government. He came to heal the relationship between God and humankind.
Everything in this country works along relational lines, and the same is true in the Kingdom of God. It’s hard to explain the wonder that wells up in my heart when, now that I understand relationships from an Arab perspective, I imagine the implications of having a right relationship with the Creator, King, and Savior.
It isn’t just a matter of “inner peace” or “Sunday religion.” Having a right relationship with God affects everything—it is the crux of my existence. This is the meaning of Christmas. Not just one day of celebration or a week of visits—Christmas means a changed life.
by an Alliance worker serving in the Middle East