Buon Natale!

We display this Star of David each Christmas.

My great friend and pretend sister, Sue, invited me to be part of their family tradition of "red envelope" letters for each day in December for missionaries in the family. Sue was a missionary in Toronto, Canada and now her son Marshall is serving in the same mission. He is one of a handful of missionaries  who learn to speak and teach in Farsi. This is what I wrote to him:

    Thinking of you there at Christmas made me remember my mission at Christmas. In English, “Christmas” is a compound word derived from “Christ’s Mass.” But in Italy, you say “Buon Natale” which roughly means, “good birth.” Sounds good, but in fact the holiday may have originated in Roman celebrations of the sun’s birth rather than the Son’s birth! Later on, Roman Christians designated their celebration of the Nativity for that time, maybe to claim the day away from the pagans. 

     Anyway, that Christmas on my mission the mail didn’t reach me in time, so the gifts I had came from a sister in the ward and a family we were teaching. I got tights, a nice leather wallet and a china doll. I gave the doll to my girls when they were old enough, and used the wallet until I was afraid it would wear out;  recently I began using it again.  

     That December we wrapped copies of the Book of Mormon in Christmas paper to give to people on the main pedestrian shopping street. One night we approached an older gentleman in front of his shop. I think we said we had something to share with him and briefly described the book before offering it to him. He accepted the wrapped book (many many people were not interested) then said he wanted to share something with us and disappeared into his shop. When he came back he presented me with a tile he had made. Painted in gold was a Star of David surrounded by a circle of flowers and carved Hebrew letters that spelled out “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” Those words, the Shema Yisrael, are used in Jewish prayer services and taught to children to say before bedtime. It is kind of THE statement of Jewish faith.

     Growing up I had many Jewish friends and have long been fascinated and impressed with the daily exercise of Jewish faith. As a youth, it seemed to touch their lives more than the faith of friends of various Christian denominations. I read books with Jewish protagonists and soaked up the culture to be found in them. So when I saw the tile and heard the words, even in Italian, I recognized them and was deeply touched that he would give such a personal declaration of faith to me.

    Now each year at Christmas I display that Star of David tile. Perhaps unusual for a Christian home, to me the star beautifully references the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem. It also reminds me of being far from home, trying to teach the gospel and being mostly rejected, and the special gift of faith I was given from a stranger.

     That is the beauty of this season: amidst all the hubbub and completely over-the-top commercialization, there really is a greater sense of giving and love. As a missionary this year you have a new way to experience the real “Spirit of Christmas,” the Spirit of the Lord touching hearts and minds. I hope you have many, many opportunities of sharing your faith and the joyful message of the Savior’s birth.

  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”   Luke 2:11

      Buon Natale!