By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
Any day is a day to reflect on the love of God. God doesn’t love us because we are good, He loves us because He is good. We call him by different names as there are so many different faiths and/or religions – HaShem, Messiah, Jah, Jesus, The Light, Jehovah, Allah, Bhagavan, Great Spirit and Waheguru, just to name a few.
How many of us sincerely reflect or meditate upon the love of God and his teachings day in and day out?
Now Christmas is at hand and it’s a big deal – Christ’s birthday. On Christmas we have traditions, rituals, special religious services. Are we drawn into a deeper reflection of God than we are on the other 364 days of the year? Many of us are drawn into something, that’s for sure.
From most accounts, the baby Jesus was born in the most modest of environments – a peasant house on the ground floor where the animals stayed. Yet now we go hog-wild for Jesus’ birthday – special music, expressions of kindness from one to another, giving of gifts, some employers providing bonuses to employees, candlelight vigils, special lights on streets and buildings and in homes, time off work for many, gatherings with family and friends, office Christmas parties, Secret Santa, festive meals – it’s a lot.
And it’s all about Jesus, His love for us and our love for Him, right? When we listen to or sing the songs we’re fond of at Christmas – “Angels We Have Heard On High” comes to mind – our spirit lifts in the melodic sequencing of Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the Highest). For a few moments in time, we bathe in the devotion of praising our Savior. We seem to experience sublime reverence for He who presides over us all – deeply spiritual if not religious experiences.
Forty-two years ago, on Christmas Eve, I was in a massive drill hall with hundreds and hundreds of other Navy recruits, in the frigid cold of Great Lakes, Illinois. We formed ranks outside our barracks and marched over there through the snow for some type of religious service. It meant a lot that those in positions of power did that for us. Leaders leading with righteousness.
So young and so far from home on Christmas Eve, but there was warmth, camaraderie and a sense of belonging to something more than self. There was singing and there were tears. Candles had been provided to everyone and starting with the lighting of a single candle, soon the dimly lit hall was transformed by that candlelight, and then came the song, “Silent Night.”
There were what we called townspeople there – people from the local area. They didn’t have a son or daughter or grands in Boot Camp, but they were there to provide support. They gave of themselves; mingling with us, shaking hands, giving hugs, sharing words of encouragement. They loved Christ and were living His teachings – caring for others – complete strangers.
By now I suppose you know where my dream is going. My dream is about the true meaning of Christmas – not the excesses or temporary emotional appeal.
In my dream for Christmas in Mississippi, hearts and minds would change. Christmas would surely be glorious – in excelsis deo – but we would be so sincere that we couldn’t possibly turn away from Christ’s teachings the day after. We would embody His words in our thinking and deeds; words that are so available to us in the Gospels. If we were sincere in our love for Christ in Mississippi, doing anything apart from that would insult our conscience. It would be such a mighty contradiction that we couldn’t stomach it – if we were sincere.
We couldn’t possibly hate our brothers and sisters just because the color of their skin is different than ours, if we were sincere. We couldn’t deliberately seek to rip power and control from the leadership of the largest African-American city in Mississippi – we would offer aid, offer to sit down together, try to be helpful in improving conditions – not take over, if we were sincere. We couldn’t allow our own brothers and sisters to go hungry, to be homeless, to not have a decent living wage, to not use every available resource to improve the health of our population; mothers, children, the elderly – if we were sincere. We would never deliberately strive to withhold voting rights from those who have committed a crime but have already done their time, if we were sincere.
In my Christmas dream for Mississippi, we wouldn’t be last in everything, we’d be helping the folks that were last. We would be so sincere in our love of Jesus that we followed those basic teachings as a matter of routine in our daily lives. Being ignorant, power-drunk and arrogant would simply fall away. The ill-justified need to be better than someone else, or better than another race of people because they look different than you would evaporate, if we were sincere.
Surely, we are human and will sin – it’s attached to our human condition. Some say that in a religious context, that sin is a transgression against religious commandments. Others say it involves a failure to do what is right, a condition of heart corruption. Then there is the definition – missing the mark. When we miss the mark, we strive to do better, we repent when needed, we apply correction, we move forward on a better path, if we are sincere.
Merry Christmas Mississippi, and Gloria, in excelsis deo. Sincerely.
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