Monday – 12/23/2013

“What Does the Fox Say?” –  Ylvis (Norwegian comedy duo with the top trending YouTube video of 2013)

I sat at complete attention in the church pew, not something that comes easy for a young child. My focus was clearly in that moment and I was locked on to Rev. Al Koch speaking from the pulpit. It was Christmas, and this wasn’t your typical sermon about Scripture. Instead, I was mesmerized as he told the tale of a fox and a few little bunnies.

As the story goes, it was Christmas Eve, the weather was brutal, and a mother bunny fearing her children might starve, had no choice but to leave her three small babies as she went out searching for food. The storm intensified, stranding her from her children, who would be forced to spend the night alone. They had never been left to fend for themselves and were clearly outmatched by not only the elements, but all of the predators that roamed the forest also searching for a meal. In particular, it was the fox, the natural enemy of the bunny and most skillful hunter that mother bunny worried about the most. If a fox were to come across her defenseless children, huddled together and scared, it would be sure to make quick work of the rabbits as its feast.

By this point in the story, I think I was just as terrified as the bunnies must have felt. My natural love for animals had me facing a quandary. As much as I loved the cute fox, I didn’t want him to eat those bunnies. I didn’t think it was right, even though it was the natural order of nature for the fox to do so. I just couldn’t wrap my head around this fact and accept it as okay.

Reverend Koch continued with his tale, building up to the moment I had been fearing all along, even though I knew it was inevitable. The fox came across the small bunnies, shivering in the cold night, alone and petrified, waiting for their loving mother to return so that she could keep them safe. However, the delicate and innocent bunnies quickly sensed they would not be seeing their mother again as they realized the fox had no intention but to devour them on this December night.

Even a chance to meet Santa Claus would not have pried me from that church pew. I was completely invested in the Reverend‘s yarn and determined to hear it through to its bitter end. But then something magical happened. The story took a dramatic and unpredictable turn I had not anticipated.

The fox sensed the fear inside the bunnies and realized they were in fact alone. Not knowing what had happened to their mother and if she would ever be returning, the fox knew it would not be long before the baby bunnies perished. The fox also knew that if it did not eat, there was no telling when it might find its next meal. And then it happened. A Christmas miracle. Faced with its own survival, the fox made the decision on that winter night to be a source of comfort, rather than danger, for those bunnies. It curled itself up into a ball and invited the three little rabbits to seek shelter under its warm coat of fur.

The storm raged on all night showing no mercy until the sun rose in the morning sky to warm the land. The three little bunnies awoke from their slumber, safe and sound. Somehow their mother also survived having burrowed under a nearby thicket patch all night long. In the morning she found her way back to her children. They were still cozily wrapped up and nestled under the fox. She approached with caution, and soon realized there was no need for alarm. The freezing temperatures had taken their toll on the fox during the night. The fox never woke up.

I was 6 years old when Reverend Koch gave that sermon during the Christmas morning mass and it has always remained top of mind every Christmas season. That was over 30 years ago and I still haven’t forgotten the story. However, as the years have passed I have come to appreciate it more, realizing the meaning of love and compassion for all that exists at the heart of the story.

It’s Christmastime.  “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” as Andy Williams likes to remind us.  But it’s not because of the presents, but rather because of the presence. His presence. Christ has come and is born in all of us. It’s a time to rejoice in the promise His love brings with it, but also a time for us to embrace His promise for us to share it.

All of us are faced with our own storms, left to feel scared and alone at times. There will be the moments in which we feel like the little bunnies who seek safety and comfort in the arms of another. And then other times we might find ourselves in the position of the fox, with the choice to either feast on the challenges others might face or to share our fur and embrace them, just as Christ has done for us.

What does the Fox say? I hope it’s the latter.

Merry Christmas!

Scott