Did I just go through a time warp? They've always said the holidays are the busiest time of the year. And when I wasn't busy, I would sit long enough for my eyelids to begin drooping to the point I would just get up & go to bed. Gosh, I'm starting to act like my father.
Actually looking over the recently departed Christmas holiday, it seemed to be a lot more of a flashpoint than in previous ones. More people have been making issues over whether or not to wish another a "Merry Christmas" or a "happy holidays" greeting. More schools have been weighing whether or not to exclude any Christmas carols from their choral presentations. And a few retail chains had egg on their faces when they tried to de-Christianize Christmas.
On the Sunday before Christmas, I heard a timely message on "The War on Christmas". It was during a month-long emphasis called, "The Christmas Chronicles" which was a clever play on the current buzz over C.S. Lewis' adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe motion picture which has the box office buzzing. The question was asked of the church: Are you making Christ famous or infamous by your actions? And what can you do in 2006 to make Christ famous?
The first think I think about if I consider somone famous is whether or not they have respect. If they have a lot of respect I would say they are pretty famous. If, on the other hand, they have a lot of disrespect then I would call them, "infamous". I wonder how much respect the church - Christians in general - are generating for Jesus? Are we "aiding & abetting the enemy" when we cast aspersion upon the Cross by our chaotic behavior?
Take Pat Robertson. His screwball "prophecies" saying that God is punishing New Orleans because of Katrina or that God is punishing Israel or its Prime Minister (who is near death at this time from bleeding on the brain) is not polishing any silver when it comes to giving Christianity a sparkling reputation. If we're going to follow that trail, I have to wonder about what God is doing in Tulsa, OK when a member of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Board (and a well-known pastor who has been critically outspoken against same-sex marriages & homosexuality) was busted propositioning a male prostitute.
We've become so polarized by our beliefs that we're no longer focusing on each other. We will always have differences no matter what. We can see these differences and note them in our mental journal, but we do not have to let these differences act as blockades to our interaction with each other.
In the middle of all the cerebral brickabrack on Christmas as a Christian holiday, is the physical effort one must make to keep momentum during this month-long marathon. We have Christmas parties to attend, church plays to support or prepare for, Christmas Eve services to plan, familes to visit, food to cook, people to see, parties to host, ....egad! Pretty soon, it's January.
You know, come to think of it...I kind of like January. Nice & quiet. No holidays. Just a normal month... I'll savor every day of it.
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