Walking the other day through the awesomely ugly yet somehow festive-this-time-of-year halls of the acres long, deep and\u00a0wide building where I work, I was singing Christmas carols under my breath, blithely anticipating the holiday almost upon us.\u00a0 I got to, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” and was reminded of hand motions my wife and I used to accompany the carol’s\u00a0chorus when we sang\u00a0it many years ago at home with our three young children.\u00a0 Here’s how\u00a0the motions\u00a0went:<\/p>\n
Oh<\/strong> (make the letter “O” with thumb and first finger) As I was walking down the hall remembering this, likely by that point absentmindedly singing loud enough that people walking by were either heartened, amused, or worried for my sanity, I realized we had been teaching our children a sacred song, one part of our parental task, using puns.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I think\u00a0we were also teaching the joy of words and the art of humor,\u00a0as holy a task as teaching the Faith and\u00a0both, a brush with the Divine.\u00a0 \u00a0Our children learned the song and we all\u00a0laughed and enjoyed\u00a0the word play.\u00a0 I wonder if we also gave thanks to the Creator of words whose birth as the Word we will celebrate soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Walking the other day through the awesomely ugly yet somehow festive-this-time-of-year halls of the acres long, deep and\u00a0wide building where I work, I was singing Christmas carols under my breath, blithely anticipating the holiday almost upon us.\u00a0 I got to, … Continue reading
\ncome<\/strong> (a palm up hand with the fingers moving back and forth in\u00a0the usual American-style beckoning motion)
\nlet us<\/strong> (make the motion of eating salad from\u00a0an imaginary\u00a0bowl.\u00a0 Lettuce.\u00a0 Let us.\u00a0 Get it?)
\nadore<\/strong> (turn an imaginary door knob and open an imaginary door.\u00a0 A Door.\u00a0 Get it?)
\nHim<\/strong> (point upward)
\nChrist<\/strong> (touch each palm with the middle finger, the American sign-language sign for Jesus)
\nthe Lord<\/strong> (again, point up).<\/p>\n