CHRISTMAS 2024

“What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what language he shall speak.”- George Santayana (1863-1952)

Like most rural Midwesterners, I was raised in an exclusively Christian community.  Christmas was as imbedded into the month of December as ice, snow, and the frozen Missouri River.

There were some pageants and sermons, some prayers and scripture readings, but for the most part it was candy, food, and celebrations. There wasn’t much thought given to what Jesus might actually be saying about the state of mankind.

Three years ago I wrote my first Christmas blog, featuring what I thought Jesus might have to say.  It was followed by one in 2022 and another last year.  This year won’t be an exception.  So with apologies to both Christians and non-Christians, this is what I think Jesus would probably be saying right now, based on what I was taught pretty much from the time I could walk.

Hello Everyone,

It’s me again.  I realize that some of you believe in me and some don’t, some worship me and some don’t, and some of you want to kill each other arguing about the whole thing.  That part’s pretty depressing.

So believe what you want.  But regardless, give a little thought to the things I said.

You all are probably in the midst of stringing up twinkling lights and gorging yourselves on outrageous food.  Some of you will get pretty hammered. 

And many of you will spend ridiculous amounts of money on crap that’ll be thrown away as soon as the wrapping paper’s off.  About all you’ll accomplish is to help Jeff Bezos make a few more billion.  I’m sure he’s just jealous as hell of Elon Musk (you can probably guess what I think of that little asshole).

Oh, yes, I can occasionally curse.  I was born in a stable, remember?  You don’t think I heard some rough language?  Of course, it was all in Aramaic.  Not many left who understand it these days.

This birthday stuff is pretty amusing, in a way.  You all have no idea when I was born.  You’ve arbitrarily selected a day around the winter solstice that originally was a tribute to both a Roman god and a Pagen German deity, whose symbol was a fir tree. 

That fact used to upset some people.  The Puritans even tried to ban the celebration during the 1600’s.  That didn’t last long though, probably because beer sales plummeted.  

But let’s get back to the basic message.  I didn’t spend my 33 years trying to jam religion down anyone’s throat.  I was a teacher.  I taught principles for people to live by.  Maybe it’s time to take a look at how well you’re doing.

You people have always had this thing about money, haven’t you?  I once told about a self-righteous rich man who threw a few coins to the poor and made a big display out of it.  I compared that to a widow who had next to nothing and gave it all away.  If you remember, I was pretty specific about which impressed me most.

But today, the powerful, the rich, and the self-righteously selfish are in positions of unprecedented power.  Those who are suffering the most are ignored at best, and at worst trampled down.  I’m not especially impressed by that.

The leaders you’ve chosen are often just images of your own vanity and selfishness.  But that’s up to you.  The way the universe works, you’ll get what you pay for.

So if you really believe that I have some sort of presence on earth today, where do you think I’ll be spending my birthday?

I’ll be somewhere in Gaza, hiding with a family while the bombs are falling.  I’ll be trying to find shelter with a family in the West Bank whose home was just destroyed by settlers.

I’ll be shivering with Syrian refugees in Europe as they ponder whether to try to stay, or make the perilous trip home to a nation still in turmoil.

I’ll be with a mother in the Ukraine praying that her son makes it home from the war.

I’ll be with a terrified Rohingya girl caught somewhere between Myanmar and Bangladesh.   

I’ll be with a Uygur boy crying in China because he hasn’t heard from his father in months.

I’ll be with hungry Afghan women who have nowhere to turn for their daughters’ education and safety.

I’ll be with an Israeli hostage who wonders if he’ll ever make it home.

I’ll be with a Pacific Island family whose home is slowly vanishing from rising sea levels.

I’ll be with an African family whose cattle are dying and fields are shrinking due to climate change.

I’ll be sweltering in a crowded building in Cite Soleil with a Haitian family, trying to not even whisper while men with machetes run past.

I’ll be with an immigrant family in Springfield, Ohio, afraid to stray from home because of some politician’s vicious lies.

I’ll be with thousands of others on either side of the Mexican border, uncertain of what the coming days will bring.

I’ll be with a father who’s just lost a daughter to an overdose.  A Mother who’s lost a son to suicide.

I’ll be with that gay kid who’s been humiliated and threatened.  I’ll be with the girl who’s just found out she’s pregnant, and has nowhere to turn.

I’ll be with thousands of families whose loved ones have been killed by a gun.

I’ll be with an exhausted young single Mother, crying at the kitchen table because her job as a waitress didn’t bring in enough tips on Christmas Eve to pay for her child’s present.

But I’ll tell you where I won’t be.  I won’t be with Elon, Peter, Jeff, J.D., Mark, Vivek, or any of the other tech-bros.  I won’t be with any of the Bitcoin pushers.  I won’t be living it up at Mar-a-Lago.

And as far as Matt Gaetz?  Do you really have to ask?

But you’ve probably guessed all of that by now.  The real question is where will you be?

Christmas and Hannukah this month. Ramadan in March, Diwali in October.  Times to celebrate.  Times to think about a lot more than just yourself.

And maybe time to not just pray for others.  Maybe time to do something.  Especially for someone who can do absolutely nothing for you in return.

My run lasted 33 years.  Most of you will make it a lot longer.  What will you do with yours?

So tomorrow, go ahead and string the lights, eat, drink, and celebrate.  And for crying out loud, don’t worry about whether you say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” or whatever else you’d like.  It’s not going to impress me one way or the other.  

And as always, go ahead and stand up during the “Hallelujah Chorus” if you want.  By that point, you’re going to be pretty tired of sitting anyway.

See you down the road.

Jesus