It’s that time of the year. People are going to post things on Facebook, twitter, etc., that urge you to “Keep Christ in Christmas” or express how proud they are to say “Merry Christmas!” because they are fighting all the heathens from taking away their right to something or other. These posts will jump up in your face. They are intended to piss liberals off and waste your time in replying to mendacious meme’s. Most of the folks who post this stuff don’t realize how stupid and shallow it is. They are oblivious to the Mighty right-wing Wurlitzer that churns out such dreck. Be gentle, be patient. Just copy and paste this quote, then go on to do the good that you must do.
So we're keeping Christ in Christmas? How are we doing that? Giving up a personal convenience to help someone less fortunate? Volunteering at a food pantry? Habitat for Humanity? Dropping change in a red kettle?
Oh, . . . facebook, . . . I see.
The image of Christ is already in the faces of everyone we see, 365 days a year (Matthew 25: 34-40). Anytime you want to see the face of Christ, just look up from the phone, turn off the PC and live with compassion, respect and mercy in the real world.
Playing political 'gotcha' games with the name of Christ on the Internet isn't doing your soul, my soul, or the rest of humanity any service.
If you are lucky enough to spend some time on December 25th with people you love, then you've been blessed. Share that.
Happy Holidays!
You don’t have to be a Christian to use this. I wrote it and I’m quite sincere about every word. Full disclosure: I’m a Lutheran Atheist. It’s sort of like being “Culturally Jewish” or a Buddhist atheist. I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church and attended a parochial elementary school. I still try to practice the Christian morality and ethics I learned as a child. I admire and try try to emulate Francis of Assisi and Theresa of Avila. I belong to a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, mainly for the opportunity to sing in a choir.
The core values of Christianity are contained in the Gospel chapter quoted above. Virgin birth? Nope. Resurrection? Nope. Biblical Inerrancy? Nope, nope, nope! Christmas and the miracle stories were tacked on later to compete with the pagan cults and their fascinating hero mythologies and festivals, including their Winter Solstice Saturnalia Orgy. December 25th, for us, is a frenzy of consumerism. It’s only redeeming value for me is a shared meal with friends and family, some token gifts and spending time with my children and grandchildren. Merry Christmas? Sure, knock yourself out. If it weren’t for the family time, I’d rather sit quietly with a glass of scotch and a book.
If you got this far into my rant, you are to be thanked. Here’s a poem.
The Holy Gospel of Empty Bellies
Want and will never balance.
Hunger and help never dovetail.
Knotted arcs of weed ivy fragment the path.
Neat judgments of deserving
radiate from the original injustice.
Bad decisions break rays on rays and flowing circle waves.
The age of the cosmos is indifferent to empty bellies.
Feeding other people's kids isn't for feeling good, though it might.
Me and mine are not lost yet, though we might go that way.
Skimming cream gains air,
clots, curds devalued, whey seeps away.
Discard worth for lack of worthiness.
We crushed what was different in our indifference.