The Gifts by Alan Bunker

The family sat scattered around the living room staring intently into the TV, its blinking images adding to the room's illumination. Atop the wooden television console, a small oil lamp burned steadily, emitting an odor foreign but not unpleasant to the room's occupants. The multi-colored lights of the Christmas tree and the carefully set Nativity scene symbolized the holiday season. The children were stirring and eagerly awaiting Christmas and its gifts. Christmas Eves had been observed in households for decades, but the Xmas of 1968 was to be like no other for this family. The expected joy of this seasonal celebration was tainted by the absence of one person. The eldest of the five children, a young man, was in the Air Force, stationed thousands of miles away on a small island which no one in the family could pronounce correctly.

Just a few days before the Eve, a small package arrived at the family's door. It was a gift from the son - a simple oil lamp. His mother carefully and proudly placed it atop the television console, the unofficial altar of the family's sacred objects. Over the years, the top of the TV set proudly showcased coveted treasures such as model airplanes, the father's bowling trophies, rare outstanding report cards and sometimes the family cat. For thousands of years, the flame of a candle or lamp has been a means of guiding people to refuge. It was often placed in a window. Now, set upon a television set in the 1960s, the flame was a symbol of remembrance. Though sometimes appearing weak and flickering on the brink of extinguishing, the small flame was as bright as the sun to the family, serving as a reminder of the young man's absence. Although this was their first Christmas as an incomplete family, they were not alone in their sorrow. Many other families throughout the country were similarly saddened because of family members away at war.

The television programs on this Christmas Eve were distinctly different from those of past years. Distracting the family from its melancholy was the news of other men also far from their families, their country and even their planet. On this solemn eve, three American astronauts were floating around that big round cheese in space. The crew of Apollo 8 was bringing the world a step closer to the reality of putting a man on the moon. Countless generations had dreamed about such a journey and now it was beginning before their eyes -- and on Xmas Eve yet! (Talk about a Star in the East!; talk about three wise men!)

The family members gazed intently as real time, close-up, images of the moon's crater-filled surface were beamed to Earth, into their TV, and reflected off their astonished faces.

Their amazement, however, was tempered by a mix of conflicted, jangled emotions: sadness, anxiety, astonishment, and hope. Was this Christmas more meaningful to them because of their incompleteness or because of men orbiting the moon, or both?

On their tenth and final orbit, the crew of Apollo 8 sent a message for all people back on Earth. As they floated above the lunar surface, module pilot William Anders began reading from the Book of Genesis: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth..." The other two astronauts, Frank Borman and James Lovell, took their turns reading additional lines from that familiar biblical passage. Upon hearing those words, the family ceased their chatter to witness history in the making.

As the first human beings to orbit the moon, the three astronauts took a few moments to humbly acknowledge God as the Creator and as the ultimate gift-giver. While the family later recounted with excitement what they had just seen and heard, the flame of the lamp sputtered and died -- its oil consumed! Suddenly, the grandfather clock in the hallway struck midnight! Christmas had arrived! The incomplete family realized just how complete their Christmas had been and how grateful they were for their unique gifts!