photo by Malene Thyssen
Sometimes, I think our blessings can be almost too overwhelming.
I’m reminded of that every Christmas, it seems, when my normally dowdy social calendar takes on all the characteristics of a month-long obstacle course: Crawl through the Christmas shopping, climb past the daughter’s social orchestra concert, leap over another Christmas party and finally cross the finish line, Christmas morning, looking not so much for comfort and joy but a nice, quiet nap.
I think I get a little Scroogish this time of year, and maybe I have company. It’s the only way I can explain the amount of anger generated by the whole War on Christmas thing.
I know lots of Christians find the fight over whether corporate America wishes us a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” to be a very big deal. I know Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and others have dedicated scads of airtime to the issue. One prominent association has made the War on Christmas a centerpiece of its ministry, and it recently declared victory over the Gap when the company aired an unambiguous “Christmas” ad. (It had previously boycotted Gap for its rather squishy holiday marketing.) But the organization still keeps a “naughty” list loaded with businesses that are “against Christmas,” which include Best Buy, Office Depot and Victoria’s Secret. I guess the lingerie-clad “angels” don’t count.
I sympathize with the Christmas warriors on some level, I guess. I mean, I think it’s a shame when people are scared to wish others a Merry Christmas, for whatever reason. I don’t think most folks get offended. But by the same token, I don’t get offended if someone wants to play it safe and wishes me a happy holiday, either – and considering how commercial the season has become, the fight over Christmas feels a little akin to activists in Jesus’ time saying, “what?! Take the marketplace out of the temple?! What are you trying to do, marginalize religion?”
Again, I’m sure folks who worry about this sort of thing mean well. But this time of year, it’d be great to see Christians concentrating on being the hands and feet of God: Taking turns ringing a bell for the Salvation Army, perhaps. Or serving food in the local food kitchen. Or volunteering at a homeless shelter. I think that’s where hearts and minds are truly won.
Which is why I get kind of excited to see stories like this: Stories about Christians who are serving others and, perhaps, surprising some of Christianity’s shrillest critics. This particular story, from The New York Times, profiles Jenna Liao, a young evangelical who coordinates activities of volunteers for World Relief. Far from abandoning traditional evangelical causes like abortion, Liao has, like many evangelicals, simply broadened her scope.
While still a student at Wheaton [College], Ms. Liao took part in a national conference about AIDS for young evangelicals. She volunteered on a weekly basis at a homeless shelter for gay men in Chicago. She met her future husband, Richard Liao, literally over the ladle at a soup kitchen. Every experience served to confirm what Ms. Liao thought of as her scriptural mission statement, the passage in the Beatitudes that blesses the poor, the meek, the mournful, the oppressed.
We are truly blessed, and our blessings are never so apparent as they are during the Christmas season. I know it’s a time when, perhaps, we as Christians are sadly reminded that religion doesn’t command the attention it once did in this country. But maybe the best way to honor the season is not to mourn what we’ve lost and fight to get it back, but rejoice over what we’ve been given — and consider what more we can give.
