Jack stared at the cold, white substance that was falling from the sky. It had been falling gently for a whole week, and the ground was covered with it.
"What's it called again mommy?" He asked.
The female Lucario picked him up in here arms. "It's called snow, and it's what falls instead of rain when it gets cold."
"Oh," he replied sagaciously. He looked out of the cave entrance a while longer before asking, "why is it so cold mommy?"
She smiled at the curious youngster in her arms. Ever since he had learned to talk three weeks ago, he'd been asking questions about anything, and everything, he saw. The arrival of winter to the no-longer-Greenwood had given Jack a whole other world to ask about.
"It's cold," she replied, "because the sun is hiding; it hides in the winter, and when it comes back things warm up again." He was too young to understand the movement of planets through space.
"Oh," the year-and-a-half old boy said again. His next question was, "will it hurt me?"
His mother laughed a little at this. "No, it won't hurt you; go ahead."
Her insight proved accurate, as Jack ran out into the six inch high snow without further hesitation. It was cold, but not too cold. Lucarios were naturally resistant to the cold, and so was jack it would seem. He ran around and met up with some of his Pokémon friends; a Machop, a Mankey, a Sneasel (who loved this weather), and Jason. They romped about for a while catching snowflakes on their tongues, packing the snow into all sorts of different shapes, and inevitably packing it into balls to throw at each other.
At this game, Sneasel easily creamed everyone else; she darted in and out of the trees like a shadow, and flung snowballs at the other contestants at an astonishing rate. The whole group enjoyed the game however, and they were soon all tired out. Jack and Jason headed back to the cave to warm up. They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in front of a hot fire, and drinking berry juice.
The next few days were reasonably uneventful, but Jack noticed his parents spending a lot of time in the back of the cave. There occasionally came strange sounds as well, like cutting, and carving, and the clink of stones. He and his brother wondered at this, but what with all the fun they were having with the snow, they didn't give it too much thought.
It was, however, getting steadily colder; the snow fell in large quantities, soon coming up to Jason's chest. Fortunately, the white carpet was also dense enough to hold as light an object as a Riolu pup, or Jack for that matter. Still though, as the weather got colder Jack and Jason found themselves trapped inside most of the time. Fortunately the shape and size of the cave kept it fairly warm inside, so they didn't freeze at night. But soon the only time anyone went outside was to gather what food they could find.
But one day, something broke the monotony. The family always sat down together every morning and read from the Bible; Father Lucario had found it in the human town, long before Jason was born. They were currently midway through the Psalms, but that day Mother Lucario turned to a place much farther along.
"Boys," she said to Jack and Jason, "your father and I have been talking, and we want to tell you a very special story today."
Jack and Jason both sat up straight, their curiosity had been piqued.
"You know," she continued, "about the curse of sin, and the punishment we deserve for it, right?"
The two children grew somber as they said, "yes, 'the wages of sin is death'."
"Don't you wonder why we aren't dead then?"
They were curious again. "Why?"
She smiled at them warmly. "That's what this story is about, grace and forgiveness. You see, God is infinitely pure and holy; there is no sin in him, and he will not tolerate sin. That is rebellion against his perfect law. So you see, our tiniest sins are enough for us to deserve God's punishment. That means, everyone who has ever lived will be punished. However, God loved his creatures so he chose someone so that their sins would be taken from them and put onto someone else; and with that sin, the punishment for it. Not just anyone could take on himself the sins of God's people though; the saviour had to be completely man so that he could perfectly keep God's law, suffer for us, and feel the pains and worries of being mortal. He also had to be completely God, so that he could stand under God's punishment for sin, and so that all of God's people could receive the benefits of his sacrifice."
The two children were dumbstruck; God is God, and man is man. How could anyone be both?
"It does seem pretty amazing, doesn't it? The second person of the trinity, the Son, took on a human body by being born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Physician, Luke, tells us all about it in the second chapter of his Gospel story."
"In those days," began Father Lucario, "a decree went out from Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be registered..."
He read all about the journey to Bethlehem, the birth of the child Jesus, the appearance of the angels, and the shepherd's visit.
Father Lucario grinned. "Do you want to hear what the angels sang in Latin?"
"Oh, yes please," the children begged him.
"Alright; 'Gloria in excelsis deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis;' that means 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'"
"Show-off," Mother Lucario snorted, but she was smiling.
"Dad," Jack asked out of the blue, "does the name Jesus mean anything special?"
"Why yes," Father Lucario replied, obviously pleased. "Jesus means 'the Lord saves'. He was called that because, as Saint Matthew says, 'he will save his people from their sins.' He is the only saviour, and everyone in this, or any other world, needs him. He also has an official title, 'Christ', or 'Anointed One'. That means someone whom God has chosen to do something special like a prophet, a priest, or a king; Jesus was all three."
Here, Father Lucario got up and left, and Mother Lucario took up the story. "Now, if you've been paying attention to those lessons on observation, then you've probably noticed us working on something in the back room."
"I knew there was something going on," Jason whispered to his brother, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
"We've been preparing," Mother Lucario continued, "for a festival called the Christ-mass."
"Christ-mass..." repeated Jack. "As in the Christ... Jesus?"
"Exactly. It's a celebration of his birth in that stable, in that little town; Bethlehem. Now, The Christ-mass didn't start out as a Christian celebration, but Christians have taken traditions from... just about everywhere, and made it all about him. For example," she said with a grin, "to remember how God gave us the greatest gift imaginable, we give presents to our loved ones too."
"PRESENTS!?"
Mother Lucario laughed at her children's excitement. "Yes, presents," she affirmed.
At this cue, Father Lucario returned from the back room, with a armload of leaf-wrapped packages. The children's eyes went wide with joy and excitement.
"Hold on a second," Mother Lucario called their attention, "I'm afraid that you can't open your presents yet."
This was heralded by a double, "Aww, why not!?"
"Because, we're not the only ones who have been preparing for Christ-mass; the entire forest has been getting ready..."
"For what? For what?" The children interrupted.
"For a Community Christ-mass Feast," she continued. "The entire forest is coming; there's going to be a bonfire, we'll play games, sing Christ-mass carols, have a large Christ-mass dinner..."
"And open all our presents?" Jason asked.
Mother Lucario laughed. "Yes, and open all your presents. But the feast isn't until tonight, so that gives you time to find some presents for your friends too; I'm sure they'd love to get presents from you."
Jack and Jason grinned at each other. "I know exactly what to get them," Jack said as they raced off.
That night, the entire forest gathered at the lake (which was now frozen over). There were garlands of spruce needles hung all around. And a wide, flat log was serving as a table in the middle of the clearing. This table was piled with a feast fit to feed an army (or a forest-full of Pokémon). Everyone was in a jolly, easy-going mood, and all were wishing each other a Merry Christ-mass.
The festivities began with the pastor of the forest, Father Lucario, giving a Christ-mass speech. He then read from chapter two of the Gospel of Luke, prayed, and said,
"Let the feast begin."
From there... Well, they feasted. And once the food was gone, the children commenced with the playing of rowdy games. After only a minute or two of the youngsters throwing snowballs around, one stray clump of white hit Father Lucario on the head. Two seconds later, the adults were throwing the snowy projectiles with just as much vigour as the youngsters.
Once everything quieted down, everyone gathered around the bonfire and the presents were given. Jack, Jason, and their friends all gathered together and exchanged gifts. Jack and Jason gave each of their friends a small stone pendant with the individual friend's name on it; they had found the stones on the shore of the lake in the summer. They were each about the same size, a lovely white colour, and perfectly round and smooth. Jack collected them, and he had quite a few. They had asked Father Lucario to make a hole in each of the stones with aura, and also to carve the names in. They had then strung a piece of cord through the hole. The end product was charming little trinkets that their friends simply loved.
Mother Lucario gave Jason a lovely blue fur hat with a feather through it, and Father Lucario gave him a belt that he had gone to great lengths to acquire from the human town. Jack got a bone comb and a satchel from Mother Lucario, and a Bible of his own from Father Lucario. Jack also gave Jason a pendant much like the ones they had given to their friends; but this one was made of a milky, semi-transparent stone that had long been the pride of Jack's collection. Jason was at a loss for words, but a long hug told all that was needed.
Once the presents had all been opened, the citizens of the forest sat around and sang Christ-mass carols. And by the time they had exhausted their supply of songs, they were all exhausted themselves. So sometime around midnight, everyone got up, the fire was doused, and they all went to bed.
As Jack and Jason climbed onto the straw mattresses that served as beds, they were smiling. They were completely tired out, and they had no intention of getting up tomorrow, but they agreed that it was worth it. The night had been one that would be remembered for the rest of the year, and many years to come. They were asleep before their heads hit their pillows.
Jack fingered the well-worn cover of the Bible in his hands, and he remembered that night so many years ago. It had been a fun night to be sure, but he had always remembered that Christmas was not just about giving gifts to others, but also remembering how God had given the greatest gift of all to his people.
"Jack, come on! Quit staring into space, you're going to be late for work."
Snapped out of his reverie, Jack bounded off his bed and raced out the door of the Pokémon centre.
Deep thought would have to wait.
Me: Just a short disclaimer; everything Mother and Father Lucario said, unless stated otherwise, was a summary of what either the Bible, or the Westminster Confession of Faith (which quotes and/or references the Bible every few words) says on the subject. But, I wish to point out that the idea about the giving of gifts is just my opinion. May God bless you,
Jack & Jason & Me: And have a Merry Christmas!