BY Bill Reagan
Tis the season to be shopping, and eating, and partying, and for vacations, and Christmas programs, and church.
Christmas is a schizophrenic kind of holiday. Most people acknowledge the spiritual importance of the Christmas holiday. Almost everyone indulges in the whirlwind party and shopping spree that December brings.
By the time Christmas Day arrives we will be tired of turkey, stuffed with Christmas cookies and wondering where all the stuff came from and how we’ll ever pay for it all.
Baby Jesus and Santa will be competing for our attention for the next four weeks. Santa will probably win, but Jesus will get His due.
Many people find the Christmas season to be the most depressing time of the year. The reason for this is straightforward. The Santa celebration and the Jesus celebration are not really compatible. The Santa celebration is about material things, the Jesus celebration, the spiritual.
The Santa celebration is about prosperity. The Jesus celebration is really about poverty. Santa is about us. Jesus is about God. That makes for a lot of dissonance between these concurrent celebrations.
The Santa side of Christmas is not bad. Who doesn’t like to get presents? Or give them? A little fantasy and wide eyed wonder never hurt anyone. The Jesus side of Christmas is without doubt the best part of the season. Who doesn’t need to be reminded that God loves us and sent Jesus to be with us? That’s what Immanuel means, “God with us.”
Like most things in life, perspective and balance help. Some time on December 25th someone in your household will most likely proclaim, “It has been a good Christmas.” It will be, indeed, if you take the Santa side for what it is — a little fantasy and wide-eyed wonder, and the Jesus side for what it is — God with us.
Bill Reagan is executive director of Loaves & Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley.
