Some Random Thoughts as the Season Begins

 

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son…” Hebrews 1:1-2a.

I don’t really care what anybody says. My Christmas is not going to be ruined by not seeing tree ornaments and reindeer printed on the cup of my tall dark roast at Starbuck’s. I still love coffee and I still love Christmas and, since neither of them are illegal in this country (Christmas is, in fact, an official national holiday), I plan to go right on enjoying both without any feelings of persecution. 80% of Americans will still be celebrating Christmas whether or not retail chains call it by its Christian name or just make a vague reference to “the holidays.” When 80% of us are still going to parties, blowing up inflatable “Santas” on our front lawns, stringing lights, and spending money like the Apocalypse is upon us, we can’t claim the status of victims. So all of you who think there’s a “war on Christmas” need to get over yourselves and concentrate on something else—like, maybe, global poverty or climate change or our increasing number of wounded combat veterans.

And, for the record, I don’t really mind the excessive secular images for Christmas either. Unlike the Puritans who wanted to outlaw Christmas because of its pagan origins, I still have a fondness for ol’ Santa. He is, after, all evolved from an authentic Christian saint (Nicholas of Myra, d. 350) who was known for sneaking into peoples’ houses and leaving lavish gifts in order to help them out. I think that’s a pretty nifty symbol for what the church of Jesus Christ should be about—selflessness, compassion, and humility.

Okay, so maybe I do get a bit weary of the over-commercialization of the holiday, but that doesn’t preclude the delight I get from my own personal traditions. Marilyn decorates our home tastefully and elegantly every year (and I just finished putting 400 colored lights on a baby Norwegian spruce in our side yard), and we look forward to getting the tree up, visiting with friends, seeing a performance of The Nutcracker, and watching our favorite Christmas movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

But what I really appreciate is the historic tradition of Advent as a prelude to Christmas. The idea that we are living in a dark world yet we yearn for the light seems to make more sense to me the older I get. In the gospel lessons of this season we hear Jesus speak of the End Times—which are actually the Beginning Times for God’s reign. Old things will perish, new things will happen. We will feel fear, but Jesus will tell us to hold up our heads and await God’s Kingdom. John the Baptist will exhort us to repent—to see things in a different way. The Virgin Mary will tell us that she, an unwed, pregnant teenager, is actually blessed among women because God favors the weak and the helpless. In all the rush and chaos of this world, Christians will still light the candles in the darkness and believe that God is in control and creating something which we might not recognize at first as God’s work, but which will be beautiful and glorious all the same.

Who could believe that a baby born in poverty, who grew up to be executed as a criminal, could actually be the Savior of the world? But that’s how God rolls—God takes outcasts and oddballs like Jacob and Joseph, Rahab and Bathsheba, Elijah and Jeremiah and John the Baptist, and uses them to proclaim his glory and love. So don’t be alarmed about the weird cultural shifts in America. Enjoy with defiant delight your Advent traditions. Keep lighting the candles, and keep believing in hope. O come, Emanuel! Come, God With Us!