CHRISTMAS 2021

So this is Christmas/And what have you done?/Another year over/And a new one just begun. . .  from “So This is Christmas,” by John Lennon, as performed by Lennon, Yoko Ono, and the Harlem Community Choir, 1971.

Once in Royal David’s City/ stood a lonely cattle shed,/where a mother held her baby./You’d do well to remember the things He later said.

When you’re stuffing yourselves at the Christmas parties,/you’ll just laugh when I tell you to take a running jump./You’re missing the point I’m sure does not need making/that Christmas spirit is not what you drink.

So how can you laugh when your own mother’s hungry?/And how can you smile when the reasons for smiling are wrong?/And if I just messed up your thoughtless pleasures,/remember, if you wish, this is just a Christmas song. . . from “A Christmas Song,” by Ian Anderson, as performed by Jethro Tull, 1970

I wish you a hopeful Christmas/I wish you a brave New Year/All anguish, pain, and sadness/leave your heart, let your road be clear.

They said there’d be snow at Christmas/They said there’d be Peace on Earth. . ./But hallelujah Noel, be it heaven or hell/The Christmas we get, we deserve. . . from “I Believe in Father Christmas,” by Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield, as performed by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, 1974.

Old songs, I know.   And many who might be reading this were likely born long after these lyrics were written.  But all of them speak in different ways to the Holiday before us.  Christmas.

For a quick refresher, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, a man from a lower-income Jewish family who spent his life in the Roman-occupied Middle East.  Christian adherents believe him to be the “Son of God.” Many other faiths, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Baha’i also include some tenets of his teachings in their beliefs, as well.  Many social reformers view him as the world’s first non-violent revolutionary.

Regardless of your personal beliefs, you’ll probably get tomorrow off, maybe have a big dinner, open some presents, and depending on your view of alcohol, get a little buzzed.  You might take in a movie.  Maybe see family.

Some Christians are fond of wearing bracelets that say WWJD, or “What Would Jesus Do” to serve as a reminder in their lives.  But maybe today we should instead consider WWJS—”What Would Jesus Say?”

The following is an imaginary letter from Jesus.  It’s not meant to promote Christianity any more than it’s meant to knock it.  But maybe in this season, it might be worth considering just what Jesus might think about the current state of humanity.

Hello everyone, Jesus here.  Yeah, I know it’s been a couple of thousand years since I’ve been down there.  But I still care very much about the place.

Yes, I know that many of you don’t quite know what to think of me.  My words have been quoted and misquoted for centuries.  Some of you think I’m the only route to eternal salvation, and others think that there’s no hard evidence that I actually even existed.  That’s OK.  It’s your belief, not mine.

I hope you have a fine day tomorrow.  But I have to tell you, this is all pretty puzzling to me.  I never taught that my birthday should be some kind of a big deal, much less an occasion to sell underwear, socks, colored lights and discount wine.  I never expected that people who really didn’t care one way or the other about what I said would go into debt just to impress someone else with gifts.  It all seems pretty weird.

So if you’re going to celebrate, fine.  Take a break.  But don’t forget the world you’ll be coming back to as soon as this birthday bash is over.

Right now, there are nearly 85 million people who’ve been driven from their homes because of wars or famine.  Many are refugees, begging for help.  I know all about that.

You’ve probably heard the story already.  But when I was a baby, my parents had to flee to Egypt.  There, we were safe from a crazed ruler intent on massacring infants.  But what if we hadn’t made it?  What if Egypt had had a big wall, and said they wanted to keep out all of those Jewish murders and rapists?  What would have happened then?

Years later, I was quoted as saying “when you did this to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.’” Yeah, I said that.  And it’s pretty obvious most of you weren’t listening.

Right now, millions are starving and freezing in Afghanistan.  Survivors of the Syrian civil war are being used as human shields by Belarus president Lukashenko and his Russian sidekick Putin in a cruel attempt to provoke NATO.  Babies are dying from malnutrition in Yemen, where Iran and Saudi Arabia are carrying out a proxy war at the expense of the civilian population.  Rohingya are being massacred in Myanmar, where the whole population is held in a death grip by the military.  Jews are being threatened again in Europe.  Christians are being beaten in India.

And don’t get me started on what’s being done to refugees at the U.S southern border.  (I sometimes have to shake my head when some Americans who claim to be such good Christians take mission trips to Central America, supposedly to spread my teaching.  But as soon as they get back, they turn around and degrade those same people they supposedly cared so much about when those people who are desperate and poor like I was try to seek refuge in the U.S.).

And all of these things are being carried out by powerful leaders who proudly proclaim themselves to be ‘religious.’  From Hungary to Uganda, Israel to Poland, Russia to Pakistan, India to Brazil, and everywhere in between, my name and my teachings are used to hurt and destroy rather than to heal and nurture.

Want to get away with something, whether it’s starting a war, condemning your neighbor, or stealing from the poor?  Just throw out a quote from “good old Jesus” and twist it around until it meets your needs.  It’ll probably work.

You might think about that the next time you say your prayers.

And then there’s what you’re doing to the Earth.  Some of you believe I’m coming again.  Well, maybe.  But right now, at the rate you’re going, I’m not sure there’s going to be much of a planet left for me to come back to.

Look, I’m not trying to be preachy, really I’m not (after all, you’ve got plenty of millionaire tele- and internet evangelists doing that).  I was actually a teacher more than anything else.  But for the life of me, I don’t understand why you people won’t just listen!

It’s not that hard!  Love your neighbor!  Share with those who don’t have what you have!  Comfort the sick!  Help the needy!  And stop getting all worked up when some two-bit politician tries to spin the things I’ve said!

OK, I’ve gotten a little worked up.  So I’ll stop.  But here’s one last thought.  In the midst of your celebrations tonight and tomorrow, think about doing this.  Give a gift to someone who can give you absolutely nothing back.  Forgive somebody for some stupid thing they once did or said.  Give an extra tip to that exhausted waitress at the truckstop.  Hug a baby.  Hold the hand of someone who’s hurting.  Just be there for someone who’s dying.

Those are the things that are really important.  Those are the things I tried to get across when I was here.  All this other fancy religious stuff is secondary at best.

Oh, and that Hallelujah Chorus?  Feel free to stand up, if you want.  But either way, it’s no big deal.

See you down the road.

Jesus