Holy Night

I’m not a Christian.  This position comes less from a lack of faith in God, and more from a distaste for organized religion and a few millennia of atrocities committed in the name of (insert deity here). 

 

But I do love me some Jesus.  The whole water to wine and resurrection thing?  Beautiful ideas in theory, but I don’t believe that part of his story.  I dig Jesus because he was a trouble maker.  His ideas were so radical that today, more than 2,000 years after his death, nobody’s ever really tried them.  I think of his mother and her constant worry over her child who was essentially homeless, consorting with prostitutes and the dregs of society. He lost his life for teaching love and compassion.

Given that Jesus’s death and resurrection are the most awesome chapters of his life, I’m always a bit miffed by the Christian and societal fascination with Christmas.  Surely Easter should be the bigger of the two major Christian holidays, and yet- commercially anyway- Easter is Christmas’s poor cousin.  Every year, I lament the decadence and commercialism of a day that’s supposed to mark the birth of the man who was as antiestablishment as they come, who lived in poverty, tending to the poor and down trodden.  Every year I say “that’s it.  Next year, no gifts.” But here I am again, doing last minute shopping, sending out cards and stressing over preparing for guests and planning menus.

This, like every year, I take the time to celebrate Christmas because I grew up believing that on the day of Jesus’s birth, the promise of salvation came in the form of a baby.  Born into wealth or war, deeply wanted or unplanned, each fragile new life holds the seeds of salvation: to a parent, to a family, to a country, to the world.  Every night a child is born is a holy night.

That’s why I celebrate Christmas.

This is, in my huble estimation, the best Christmas song ever recorded.  Lyrics here.

Merry Christmas.

Comments

[sandy shoes]

"...Easter is Christmas’s poor cousin." While this is undoubtedly true at the mall and on television, in church, Easter does have the status you'd think it should. At least that's been my (Episcopal) experience. Mileage varies :).

I totally get what you say about Jesus being anti-establishment. So true, and so often forgotten/glossed over.

[Velma]

Rock on, sister! This is so close to my own beliefs, and yet I have never been able to articulate it even a fraction so clearly.

[Kate]

...like I needed another reason to have another baby.

A lovely post. Thank you!

[Mrs. Chicky]

What Velma said. I don't think I ever could have summed it up that well.

And that song is a great Christmas tune and I always forget to add it to my Christmas mix. Am adding it right now.

[Mr. Chicky]

Absolute perfection. This post has brought me to tears. Though brought up by a mother of deep religious faith, I never got the God bug, but I too loved me some Jesus. In his words and his deeds I did find faith, but not in God, but rather faith in the goodness of humanity. Thank you for bringing that all back to me. In all of the chaos of modern life’s daily grind, I’ve lost a bit of Christmas spirit in recent years. I blink and the whole season has come and gone for me with all the responsibilities of the season falling on the shoulders of Mrs. Chicky. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to read this until two days after Christmas, but I’m certainly glad that I did. Thank you for reminding me what this season is really about. Faith in humanity. Hope for a better tomorrow. Love Personified. And taking a moment out of our lives to celebrate these things with friends and family. As I sit here with tears gently rolling down my face, I realize that I’ve been waiting for these exact words to shake me out of my haze. Thank you … and Merry Christmas.