In a Different Vein…

You might remember the X-Files had a poster in the office that read “I Want to Believe”.  Truth be told, often throughout the past couple of years that described my feelings on matters of faith.

However, the ambivalence has not dampened my positive feelings about this holiday season.  Truth be told, I am very fond of Christmas, especially.  I find the sentiment behind the season hopeful, especially when the natural season of winter can feel so bleak.  The trees have gone dormant, there is a bitter chill in the air.  On Sunday, my family gathered with my father’s side of the family.  It was slow going, as there was little visibility.  The weather was harsh, the snow falling rapidly, hiding dangerous and slick ice.  My uncle’s car broke down as he tried to leave the house.

And yet, in the midst of the weather, I cannot help but see it as a hopeful time.  In the movie Scrooged, Bill Murray speaks of Christmas as the one time a year when we are a little nicer to each other.  He echoes the sentiments of a Christmas Carol, speaking about having Christmas in his heart every day of the year.

And for the public at large, I think that is the positive hope to be found in the holiday, regardless of faith.  That we can reach out to each other, support each other, protect and serve each other all the time, but use this time to remind ourselves that we need each other.  When we turn inward and focus on our own hurts exclusively, we fail each other and we start to find our lives can feel as barren and frigid as the winter landscape in January.

I find few things can help me gain strength in times of tribulations like the love and support of people-sometimes absolute strangers.  I firmly believe, for Christians, this is an important message that gets lost in the demands that people remember the “reason for the season”.  I disagree with this notion.  It’s the actions of the season that matter.  Remembering that it is “the Birth of Jesus” does not help people share the love and support needed to get through the tough times.  Christians need to focus putting forth the HEART of the season.  Give the warmth, the love, the joy we claim people are suppressing.

My favorite Christmas carol is probably “I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day.”  There is a certain darkness to the song.  At one point, the songwriter states,

“And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.“

It’s honest.  The world can seem oppressive and hopeless. And like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, the immediate picture can look impossible and worth giving up on.  But I would hope that we can each get that small reminder of what our presence can do, the true impact we can have in the lives of those around us.  In I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow follows himself up with:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

It is in that spirit I am going to wish everyone reading this a Merry Christmas.  In the spirit that the season can be a moment of hope in a bleak time, that we can overcome.

Peace on Earth and good will to men.

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