By Scott Spreier
Christmas is upon us! The decorations are up, the lights twinkling and the music playing — magnificently here at Wilshire.
But for me, something — someone — is missing.
The Son of God.
Personally, I’ve only caught fleeting glimpses of Christ this supposedly holiest time of the year.
It’s not the usual fog of consumerism that rolls in during December, obscuring his presence. No, it’s a darker, more sinister apparition — an unholy atmosphere of anxiety, fear and anger that sometimes approaches hate.
I can’t escape it. It envelops me the first thing in the morning when I open my iPhone or watch the news. It intrudes when I’m visiting with friends and family. It even pops up uninvited in Sunday School.
We live in disturbing times. Mass shootings like the tragedies of the past week, wars and rumors of war, our democracy in turmoil, global warming, social media and the digital gods of AI. The list goes on.
Like many others, I often find myself despising those in power, including The One Who Shall Not Be Named, and no, I’m not speaking of Lord Voldemort. As a choleric Christian snob, I silently ridicule fellow believers whose perspective on faith is far different from mine.
Jesus understood such behavior, but he certainly didn’t approve it. As he said in today’s Gospel reading: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. … Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
For someone who can’t maintain an exercise routine for more than a week, perfection is a pipe dream. But I understand his point, and it’s one worth striving for. (Note: If you’re perfect, you can stop reading. I’ll try to still love you, but it will be hard.)
If we are to find joy and love in this holy season, we must replace our vilifying and finger pointing with understanding and empathy. We must listen more and argue less.
We must, as Jesus did, speak truth to power. We must protest, volunteer and voice our concerns. We must do what we can to protect the immigrants. We must help the poor, the homeless and the “invisible others” in our community. If necessary, we must even be willing to do our own version of Jesus’ table-turning temple tantrum to thwart evil.
To truly experience love and joy this Christmas, we must do everything in our power to create a world of love and joy for all of God’s children.
What better gift can we give the Birthday Boy?