I’m sure you’ve noticed that our nation is in a mess.
From a crumbling infra-structure to stagnant wages to historic economic inequality to growing poverty to unending wars to political bitterness to our democracy being usurped by a plutocracy, we are experiencing a tsunami of conflict and change.
And, yet, Christmas is coming. That most wonderful time of the year.
Frankly, I think we all need the kind of break from the mess we are in that Christmas always is when we take time to enjoy it.
I’m not just talking about the birth of Jesus part of Christmas. That’s for Christians. But Christmas has evolved into a holiday for the world to enjoy, Christians and non-Christians alike. The music, decorations, Christmas trees, parties, eggnog, wassails, gift giving, the whole package.
Walking down city streets, inside malls, and office complexes hearing Christmas music, religious and secular, is something special, and for me feels like a new experience every year.
My father loved Christmas, even though he was not what you would call an overly religious man. He started attending church late in his life. But at Christmas he would become almost like a child. It was that way long after my brothers and I were grown and had families of our own.
That’s what Christmas can do to and for a person, and I think as a people we need it this year more than ever. Certainly there have been Christmases celebrated during time of war and depression when times were worse than now, but not by much.
I say that because I think the life has gone out of us as Americans.
We hold our elected leaders in contempt, much of it well deserved. We no longer trust a Supreme Court that makes rulings that seem more political than legal and dangerous to our form of democracy. We have seen the killing of innocent kids at the hands of the police, and now we are getting the official truth about how our government used torture after 9/11 as if that event robbed us of our humanity and decency.
When a people’s spirit is gone, an attitude akin to “Que Sera Sera,” whatever will be will be, takes over. Hope and joy fade. That’s the way a lot of people feel today.
So I think Christmas is coming at just the right time.
I have heard the rumors again that there is a “war” on Christmas, but I think that is true only for people who want it to be. The rest of us can let the Christmas “zeitgeist” envelope us and put some life back in us.
The new year will provide us with all the time we will need to face up to the serious issues before us, and I will be among those warning that we ignore them at our own peril.
But for now I just want to drink in some Christmas spirit, in every form it takes, every song, smile, party, present, prayer, and sense of awe, until I am filled to overflowing with love and joy.
Sure, I know it will all pass. It always does. But even just a moment of it is worth it. Always.
