Merry Christmas

Contrary to the right-wing complaint that there is a "war on Christmas," I see the profound influence of Christmas on people of all faiths and non-faiths:

• A friend I recently met is the adult education minister at a non-Christian new age congregation, but celebrates Christmas with her family as the time to refocus on a giving life.
• The message board at our local Baha'i worship center currently reads: "Jesus: A Gift from God."
• My corporate intranet featured a picture of the Christmas tree in our office in Pune, India, where Hindus, Christians, and others celebrate the holiday.
• My office, consisting mostly of non-churchgoing folk, is well-known within our company and in Washington County for our hands-on work in the community, including providing Christmas gifts and food for around 20 families (in an office of 250+ people).
• The commercialization can be maddening, but it can't be denied that totally secular people have fallen in love with the inflatable yard figures--the Cat in the Hat with the Grinch, Santa on a motorcycle, etc.

The point is that for good or for bad, Christmas is a cultural, religious, and spiritual phenomenon globally. It's a contribution of my faith tradition to the spirituality of the world at large.

And the true meaning of Christmas? From this global perspective, I would say that the Christian doctrine of incarnation symbolizes our union with the universe and with each other. Jesus did not come to establish a systematic theology. He came that we and the universe might be transformed. As Zechariah sings in Luke's story,

"By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."
(Luke 1:78-79)

Merry Christmas!