Christmas
The barber, the bartender, the bookseller, and my many non religious friends will quickly assume the season is busy. “Must be busy for you,” they affirm, as they can’t imagine that I’m busy at other times of the year. It’s marginally more busy. We have two extra services.
And holidays are a time when people decide to die. Surely, the culture is caught in the busy-ness of buying, selling, wrapping, baking, drinking, vomiting, mailing and traveling that contains this season.
We are more busy in November, for that’s when the church is pledging – like public radio, but with more guilt, and more God. And, for all the talk about God and stewardship and sharing and generosity, the drive is really all about me, and how they need to pony up to pay my salary. I become very aware of the many reasons people learn to hate priests. So I’m on my best behavior in November, and working hard at being loving.
November is also a busy month.
The church runs itself during Christmas. People have been here a long time, and know their roles. F., who is a very good teacher but had at one time called me often at about 8:30pm usually with a couple knocks, will run the pageant, with D, the slender daughter of the former rector, and P, who is quite interested in nutrition, who help discipline and fit the costumes. Mr. A. and Deacon will run the soup kitchen. We have a delightful interim organist, who is familiar with the musical requirements for the pre-service concert. I asked if she would find someone to sing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Father Christmas” before the service – after all, we have more liberty to mix the sacred and secular. To her credit, she sung some more traditional wintry tunes, passing the church’s first test: does she know that I’m crazy, or not? She’s married to a young, conservative Lutheran pastor so she knows the business and when I’m being facetious. So I’m going on auto-pilot, except I visit more people during this month.
Other churches have huge pageants with kids of all ages. They memorize their scripts and have a professional seamstress create the costumes. They’re large enough to have a “lessons and carols” service, a concert for secular Christians; Christmas parties for each parish group – the choir, the board of directors, the altar guild, the men’s fellowship, the Sunday school teachers; and the numerous service obligations typical of a church. Our own soup kitchen will be open for the homeless, indigent, cold and lonely.
There are moments during the season I want to call Christmas off. “Look everyone. The Baby Jesus really doesn’t care what you give him. He’s a baby, first of all. He just wants to be near his mother.” There will be no crèche near the altar. We’re not worshiping in the barn behind the inn. Between you and me, I’ve always found the crèche a bit idolatrous and creepy. Or it may be an allergy to kitsch.
Instead, let it be a ritual, a paean to commerce, to the getting and giving of amusing and useless trinkets, the exchanging of Furbies, Cameras, socks and Lingerie. As Christians, let’s not compete with the market. Perhaps throw a good party.
When the post-Christmas depression hits, think of God’s chastisement, God’s glaring eye upon your credit card bill, whispering, “you didn’t need to purchase all these gifts” or wagging his finger, “now you’ll be in debt for the next four months.”
Maybe it would be better if we just kepts still this Christmas. Not a forced, unreasonable stillness, but just breathing in that joyfula awareness of knowing that God is with us. WE have what we have, and that's good.
Instead of the craziness of the season, Let’s visit each other. If we must give gifts, let it be on January 6th. Otherwise, before then, offer time, meals, and a song. Instead of spending hours driving to the mall, standing in long lines, and deciding between an Xbox or a Playstation, greet your neighbors. If you’re feeling generous, take a bottle of sherry.
Oh, if only it were so easy to do as you suggest... if you're the only person in a big family who hates the hubbub, the conflict you create by trying to bow out is even worse. It seems the only civil response is to close the mouth and open the wallet and wait for December 26 for the fun to happen, when people are relaxed again.
Posted by: Erin | Dec 10, 2005 at 09:10 AM
Alleluia - feel much the same not least in the irritant of " its your busy time of the year". In fact everything is planned and prepared and by an large I turn up for relatively simple worship but it is exhausting by Christmas day. I have this year had two days off early this week as "pre-Christmas break" to allow for funerals which need to be squeezed in before Christmas Eve etc.
Posted by: Tom Allen | Dec 14, 2005 at 09:32 AM