THE NAIL

TODAY: Past is prologue. Spend time today thinking about your observance of Easter and how it has changed. Do you have a tradition? Have you done something in past years that should become a tradition? Use this opportunity to ask others in your family about their favorite parts of the Easter story, and what traditions they hope to preserve.

Our routine for decorating the Christmas tree does not change. After putting on the lights, our tradition is to make the first ornament the “Christmas Nail.” This was a Christmas gift some years ago from a prayer partner. The nail is a reproduction of the kind used by Roman soldiers in a crucifixion.

As I take the nail out of the box, it causes a shiver up my spine, as it does every year.

Looking at this nail with a blunt, rectangular tip and quite long, I can’t begin to imagine the pain it would cause if it were pounded through my wrists and feet. Every year it causes me to remember the great suffering endured by Jesus for my sins.

Last Christmas we were joined by my son’s girlfriend. She is a “seeker” and learning about Christianity. She asks about the nail. I try to explain, but she becomes increasingly puzzled. “Why put a sadness on a happy tree?” she asks.

A good question and I wonder if that is what’s happened to many people. Christmas is about a cute baby, angels, rich wise men and especially gifts. We’re conditioned to believe that we should only be thinking happy, warm, fuzzy thoughts.

But Jesus was born to secure our salvation. That salvation was purchased with a horrible death. For me, our Christmas Nail is the reminder of that important connection. We can glibly say “Jesus is the reason for the season,” but holding the nail makes it a concrete reality.

— Barbara Carter

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist