We cannot wish people a Merry Christmas without taking some personal action. And the recipe for that action is central to the Gospel message of Jesus. We are called to be a commonwealth of peoples, not a conglomeration of self-interested individuals – Margaret Thatcher notwithstanding.
Can we sincerely wish someone a Merry Christmas this year? Just maybe we can.
Easter is the greatest Christian feast; Christmas comes second. But in popular culture Christmas is the most popular and most merrily celebrated. It is above all a family feast, not just a church one. It has an undisputed place in the national culture of the West.
It is also a holiday. And in the southern hemisphere it is the start of the big summer break. So many take their annual work leave at this time that the cities become half deserted from Christmas into January. The southern hemisphere is more than happy to exchange the big holiday for the snow and sleigh bells of the north. So, in southern multi-cultural societies, like Australia, Christmas becomes a holiday for everybody.
For Christians Christmas celebrates a key belief that God is incarnate in our world. The Christian God became human as one of us. Jesus is God taking flesh – the human face of the invisible God and the reassurance that God is intimately involved with humanity.
But it’s the trimmings of Christmas which engage us more. The crib with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Christmas carols, Christmas trees, gift-giving and a bit of indulgent eating and drinking. Our imagination is full of scenes which scream Christmas.
Many of these images come from the gospels of Luke and Matthew. Both these writers wrote their stories because they believed the life death and resurrection of Jesus was an intervention by God in human history. The puzzle of life itself is solved firstly by Jesus showing us how to live fully and peacefully and secondly, reassuring us by his resurrection that life wins out in the long run.
The two stories of his birth and childhood seem to have been written after the original story was composed. Like overtures to the main act, they weave stories which seem to mix recollections and fables which link him up to Israel’s own vast story.
They are very different stories. Luke’s story is bright and hopeful; Matthew’s is darker and more political. Luke has angel choirs singing joyfully; Matthew has Herod’s soldiers out to kill Jesus. Luke focuses on Mary’s gracious “yes” to the angel’s announcement; Mathew focuses on Joseph as the protector escaping with the child and his mother as refugees to Egypt. Bethlehem is of more important for Luke; Nazareth is for Matthew. Luke has low-born shepherds as the first to recognize Jesus; Matthew has soothsayers from the East follow a heavenly star to find him and worship him. They inadvertently set Herod on a murderous rampage to kill the child. These intricate stories forewarn the reader that there is much to “make merry” about, but also, a lot to be wary about.
Wishing a Merry Christmas in 2020 needs to be accompanied by a warning alert to keep an eye out for danger. Perhaps Matthew’s story is the more relevant today.
Forest fires are almost inevitable. The virus has wrought havoc round the globe leaving a trail of death, illness, disruption and suspicion. Worldwide the political balance is moving to more authoritarian than participatory government. Old wives’ tales are crowding out established scientific facts. The inescapability of social media demands more effort to establish balanced policy. Identity politics cuts out the middleman of argued compromise. A new nationalism creates a dog in-the-manger prejudice against the poor and oppressed who face barriers as they seek refuge or the chance to live decently. Statesmen have vacated the political stage for sectarian ideologues – often enough, also demagogues. Reason has left the scene. Simple decency is in short supply.
But one threat overwhelms all the others – climate change. Despite the skepticism of deniers, the fact is that the earth is warming and that we are contributing to it by our CO2 emissions and human change to the flora balance on the planet. Rainforests are the lungs of the planet working symbiotically with human existence. The destruction of these is a major factor in the warming. Increase of temperature of the atmosphere will make life increasingly more difficult for the human species leading to the possibility of extinction. David Attenborough walks us through the scenario in his testament film “A Life on the Planet” (Netflix). His quiet presentation outlines an alarming challenge to humans.
He still believes that the danger can be contained – but not without serious policy intervention from governments. He walks us through the remedy.
We, therefore, cannot wish people a Merry Christmas without taking some personal action. And the recipe for that action is central to the Gospel message of Jesus. We are called to be a commonwealth of peoples, not a conglomeration of self-interested individuals – Margaret Thatcher notwithstanding.
International awareness of the need to act sustainably on our planet is becoming more generally agreed on by world leaders. Even in Australia the state premiers are active on the challenge even though there is no leadership at federal level.
The demands of refugees are on the increase and the developed world has an increased responsibility to help or at least not persecute.
So, let’s read Luke and Matthew again, take to heart Matthew’s warning, and identify the dangers of our time.
If we follow up on those warnings, we are entitled to join Luke’s angelic choirs, sing glory to God and peace to people of good will. Only then will wishing a Merry Christmas will be genuine and no cliché.
Eric Hodgens is a Catholic Priest living in retirement. He writes for P&I, International Lo Croix and The Swag.
Comments
8 responses to “Merry Christmas – 2020 – Really?”
Well written article Callum & Michael, and it certainly brings back hard and painful memories from those
horrible Howard years. My age span certainly did not help me 50-65 no matter what personal undertakings I took to get back into the work force and certainly fodder for the JSA’s.
I disliked Howard then, and dislike him even more now, given the evidence to date of the damage that he has done to our Country, individually and collectively. Another facsimile of a human being that claimed to be a ‘Christian’. Very, very doubtful and a judgemental Methodist to boot. If you have yet to read David Marr’s ‘High Price of Heaven’ it’s certainly worth a read along with Marion Maddox’s ‘God under Howard’.
Here’s what most ‘Christians’ forget, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were refugees, https://publish.pearlsandirritations.com/christmas-reflection/ so according to many Christian’s versions of ‘worthy refuges’ it depends on who gets access to the system, and we know how the conservatives worldwide categorised that one, this article is testament to it.
So, rather than focus on what you can get, directly or indirectly, what can you give to sustain its biodiversity, its ecology, its plant life, in essence our continued presence on this planet? Given our attitudes to date, do
we deserve to be here? Maybe that’s the gift of 2020, a reminder of what we have become rather than what we are meant to be, living in harmony with our planet, not abusing it. Attenborough sets out our salvation, and we would be wise to heed his words. It’s not where we live, it’s how we live that matters.
‘Love’ is like a baby, it needs Tender Loving Care, and the planet deserves nothing less. I have learned to become a better gardener, in being a better gardener I notice things more readily, what remediation action
needs to be taken, what support plants need, what feeding plants need. That’s how I have spent my Christmas for the past 20 years, as I have no living family and I have far too much to do to be lonely, pets, organic gardening, interest in politics and other household matters keeps me busy.
It’s no different for our animal companions or ourselves for that matter, animate and inanimate need the same, so start noticing and being kind to nature, which in case you have not noticed we are part of! Act local,
think global, she will notice.
Oops, just noticed my blunder! I had two articles open at once, therefore my apologies Eric.
We like to tell ourselves that Christmas is a time for joy and unity. The sad reality is that whilst it might be those things it is also a time of huge stress for many – emotionally, culturally, socially, but all of that distracts from its true meaning – even if you are not a Christian, it is still one of the more powerful religious occasions – but we’re too busy for any of that. It has become a time of massive and over-wrought excess – spending, eating, drinking. We tend to think that if we are running around like mad things drinking, showing off our “one day of the year” faux-bonhomie to people we don’t like (often our own family), we must be enjoying ourselves. It seems to me a bit like the 1994 Woodstock – people who weren’t at the original trying to capture the spirit of the original just by being there. Our roads become intolerably dangerous – bad driving writ large and it seems to me it is largely driven by stress and anger – on Christmas Day! But we never stop our frenzy and think about those who don’t or can’t get swept up in the madness, but who know what others are doing and who are aware of how much they miss out on. People who have lost loved ones; people on their own, parents with no money for kids’ presents or $200 lobsters. I see Christmas, as a self-confessed curmudgeon, as another opportunity for us to show off our visible affluence and affirm how shallow and self-absorbed we have become as a society.
Fine reflection Eric, especially for these troubled times. I find I still have everything to be grateful for, and innumerable blessings. It’s always timely to share from our bounty.
Fifteen or so years ago at this time of the year I was teaching a course in ethics to some street people at the St Vincent de Paul centre at Surry Hills here in Sydney as part of the Clemente program. I remember having an alarm buzzer on my belt. “If anything goes wrong press that and we’ll be there in a few moments,” the man at the desk assured me. At the end of the last session I wished them “Merry Christmas” and one of the more vocal members said, “Fuck Christmas!” He was not joking. Having had a couple of those kinds of Christmas myself when I was younger I could guess what he meant though I probably didn’t know the depths of it. I’ve always been more careful since though. Maybe the writer of Matthew had been a street person. While I know that Easter is the Big Feast I prefer Christmas. Incarnation means to me that somehow it is all worth it, that God takes creation seriously warts and all even if you are on the street.
According to Matthew 9, Graham, Matthew was a tax collector, so unless he was honest – a rare thing for the times, when tax collectors had the reputation we accord used car salesmen – he was probably pretty well off, Graham. Remember Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector in Luke 19, who is described as rich.
But thank you for an interesting and poignant anecdote.
Many Thanks Eric. as I sit quietly reflecting on your insightful article & it’s message,I give thanks.
You have been a Visionary for many decades , enabling the positive life giving growth of so many.
As i sit in wondrous silence listening to the earth. ..pondering the Great Mystery of Incarnation ..a magpie sings…”Gloria “.
All is Gift indeed.
…Remembering 3133
Well done Eric. Spot on. A masterful summation. The challenge is to get Morrison and Hillsong to read it.
Don’t hold your breath!