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Something Wonderful: “Merry Christmas From Another Lost Place: This One Ancient and Cold “

Writer and Novelist Joel Hirst writes:

The other day I was driving along a crumbling road to an ancient monastery, where the monks still worship God and celebrate Christmas – though time passes and their calling is ridiculed, called foolish as are their vows in an age which thinks only of itself. Along my trek I slowed to drive carefully through a herd of sheep that seemed endless, watched over by the shepherds and their dogs as people have done in this part of the world since long before even Jesus walked the earth.

Today we speak breathlessly of influencers; meaningless though they are in their banality and oh-so empty of mind. But influence… influential? That is the joyous irony of the Christ story: the people, all the people of the greatest story ever were anti-influencers – as if God was challenging humanity, “You, who dream of virality? Tsk tsk, watch now what I am going to do.”

RTWT AT | Joel D. Hirst’s Blog

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • ghostsniper December 24, 2019, 5:50 PM

    …and to all a good night…

  • Some guy who wants to remain anonymous December 24, 2019, 7:33 PM

    Merry Christmas, Gerard. I’ve been reading your blog for a few years, but never felt compelled to comment until this Christmas Eve.

    I’ve followed your Paradise Camp Fire saga from a distance, but in November while in Cali, a friend who was involved with a volunteer project in Paradise called and invited me to visit your little town on my way home. I decided I would visit the project, look around for maybe a half hour, and head on north to home. It’s a long ways from Paradise to my home and I had been away for most of a month.

    As sometimes happens, things don’t work out as we plan, and my planned half-hour visit turned into a multi-day labor of love. What I saw in Paradise broke my heart but also renewed my faith in the courage, grace, generosity, and optimism of our people. One thing lead to another and I’m now up to my ears in that Paradise project. I’m heading down again right after New Years and again in April.

    I am deeply grateful to have an opportunity to help make a part of the world right again with whatever small talents and experience I might have, but I’m much more grateful to the brave and good folks in Paradise who touched my heart and helped me to believe in wonderful things again.

    God bless you, all you, and God bless Paradise.

  • Casey Klahn December 24, 2019, 8:31 PM

    Merry Christmas, Gerard and all AD friends.

  • jwm December 24, 2019, 9:28 PM

    Merry Christmas to all
    And to all a good night.
    Have a blessed Christmas, my friends.

    JWM

  • Phil in Englewood December 25, 2019, 5:11 AM

    Merry Christmas, Gerard, and to all AD commenters, the best on the Internet. American Digest is like finding a present under the tree every day, all year long.

  • Kevin in PA December 25, 2019, 5:33 AM

    Merry Christmas, Gerard and to all AD readers as well.