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December 25, 2009
Exclusive: Merry Christmas – A Blessing with a Universal Message from a Universal God
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future. The spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!” – (The Redeemed) Ebenezer Scrooge – From Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
“Merry Christmas” is more than a greeting – it is a promise of sorts, a contract – to be a bit kinder, gentler and more attuned to the needs of others beyond our own sphere of wants, needs and desires – between “kindred souls and kindred travelers to the grave,” as Old Jacob Marley might have opined.
And it is a phrase, a concept that everyone wants to feel on some level – regardless of religion. At the start of the Christmas season I had the pleasure of attending a one man performance of A Christmas Carol by none other than the great-great grandson of Charles Dickens – Gerald Charles Dickens. It was magical! And all the lessons that we should routinely be taught in our schools – kindness, generosity, and the nobility of the human spirit – came to life in 70 minutes. What was interesting to note was that many of the members of the audience were non Christian – Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims. Each with a smile on his/her face bigger than the next persons, and nodding in agreement, or wiping a tear away or lost in thought – perhaps thinking who that listener could better help during this season.
Though a Christian, Dickens’story is beyond religious tradition – it, like the message of Christmas, is universal.
Is Christmas a Christian Holiday?
Beyond the anthropology of the Holiday – borrowed, morphed and superimposed over ancient religions and pagan rituals from Rome to Normandy, Saxony to a bunch of places in between, it is a story of God’s Grace. “For God so loved the world…”
Christmas is a time of universal camaraderie – a time when people are kinder and the notion of making the world a little better place than how I found it, even if it is for just one day or season. It is a universal message – though celebrated by Christianity – Catholics (Greek, Roman) and Protestants – as recognition of God’s gift to mankind in the birth of His Son, the message is not the sole purview of any religion because while Jesus may be the Christian Savior, His Dad is Everyone’s God; call him Allah, Father, Yahweh, Divine Spirit, The All Seeing Eye or just The Higher Power – anyone who worships a god is worshipping God.
On the presumption most of us believe in “God,” the reality is that Jesus admonished us that He did not come to create a new religion, and indeed wanted us to worship God the Father. As a Jew, that would be for Jesus and His people the God of Abraham. Not merely coincidentally, the God of Israel is also the God of Ibrahim and Islam. Mohammed the Prophet built Islam upon many of the tenets and prophets from Judaism and Christianity. Fact! So for Radical Islam to consider Judaism and Christianity as “infidels” is tantamount to removing the foundation to your own home as if that will preserve the roof. It flies in the face of history and reality. Yet that is 21st century reality – a global Jihad is continuing; sometimes overt (9/11, Bali, Madrid, London) and other times more subtle – the stealth malignancy of Iran as a cancer in the Middle East fostering violence through Hamas and Hezbollah, and undermining any potential peace gains in the region.
In thinking we believe in the “one true God” – religion has become tantamount to playing on a team. Instead of Bibles, prayer books and Korans, perhaps kids should get t-shirts and pennants when they are baptized, circumcised or welcomed into their respective churches. It’s not just Team Islam against Team Judaism. No one wears a halo on planet Earth. When I was a kid, I still remember hearing Protestant kids being told they weren’t going to Heaven because they didn’t belong to the one true religion by their parochial school playmates. Those times have changed, haven’t they?! Before Christians can point a finger at the Islam, Israeli, Christian conflict, we ought to examine our own hearts and policies. There remains only a tenuous accord between the two constituents in the Houses of Christianity – Protestants still aren’t welcome at the communion alter in Catholic Churches. This isn’t to start a theological debate but merely to state that we all have a ways to go to reach out in the name of God’s true teachings – but once again, humans have tampered with a simple set of instructions from on High: “Love one another as you would love yourself” or “Do unto others as you would do unto yourself.“ Simple, right? So how did religions screw up what God so succinctly instructed us? The Almighty must look down on His children and think He is watching Liverpool play Manchester United in a blood sport rematch instead of worshipers.
You can learn a lot about a nation by how it celebrates traditions and welcomes others to do the same.
A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending time in Dubai, and was greeted at multiple hotels with the sight of beautiful Christmas trees. Christmas trees! Yes I really was in the Middle East and was wished a Merry Christmas by several locals who recognized I was most likely Christian. Now granted, the Emirates are the Switzerland of the Persian Gulf. Nevertheless, they share the same peninsula as the fine friendly folks of Saudi Arabia who would not have wished me Merry Christmas or even spoken to me; an American woman walking amidst the souks and byways (unescorted…not likely) had I been in Riyadh instead of Dubai. For now you won’t see a lighted Menorah or signs overtly welcoming Jews to celebrate Hanukah, but great journeys start with small steps. The Intercontinental even had Christmas cookie baking celebrations on December 25th. Yes it is good business. But that is not mutually exclusive to tolerance. In fact some might argue commerce has been the most significant driving force for mutual understanding and coexistence, not religion or diplomacy. There’s a lesson there, Mr. President.
Then I popped into Paris for a couple days. Welcoming me at Charles De Gaulle Airport were signs Joyeaux Fetes with a variety of holidays and celebrations from Kwanza to Christmas listed on the banners. The French hedged their bets a bit on the religious front. Would it have hurt to have a few Joyeaux Noel signs around?
Merry Christmas is not an epithet!
Over the last few years the term Merry Christmas has come under siege, as have public displays of Christian scenes. Perhaps the ultra left – the supposed educated and education cohort ought to reread some of the biographies of Jefferson, Madison, Washington and others. Jefferson was once quoted as proud of the fact in our fledgling nation three different religious traditions used a public building as a site of worship. Perhaps that is where the notion “only in America” was first conceived? The separation of church and state is not a Checkpoint Charlie where alarms go off if you carry a Bible or Koran approaching a public building. On the contrary – it is common territory where all people can and should express beliefs. Think Speakers Corner in Hyde Park.
Fortunately, several companies are bringing back Merry Christmas instead of the Happy Holiday message of prior years. Commercially driven? Perhaps. Or perhaps the recognition that while we should be tolerant of all religions, the last we checked, 80 percent plus Americans celebrate CHRISTMAS, not the holidays!
And frankly, most people get it. If I inadvertently wish a non-Christian “Merry Christmas,” especially close to Christmas Day, most not only don’t get offended, but will counter with a similar greeting or well-wish.
This hysterical and contagious faux insult mentality that somehow wishing someone Merry Christmas is a curse is just plain silly, and should be called out for what it is – attention seeking behavior. Christians wishing Merry Christmas are not part of a conspiracy to convert the non Christian, or to subvert those who follow a different religious tradition or choose to believe in none at all. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous.
Personally, I wish everyone who celebrated a holiday would wish me a happy “whatever” day. I’d learn something in the process and have an opportunity to engage in conversation someone and something I didn’t know before. Greetings are harmless. We have bigger problems in the world than trying to expunge Merry Christmas from the collective December lexicon.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but through the blessing of living in the United States, we can still enjoy the freedom of religion (not from it as some might have us do in the new secular, progressive world order) and openly celebrate Christmas, with its inherent and often quoted mission statement “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Mankind” – we are reminded of our hope for a better world.
“Oh little town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie.”
The words to this cherished Christmas Carol say so much on so many levels. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus is also in the midst of the Palestinian – Israeli conflict. It has been a battle weary town in the 21st century as the Intifada rolled along, and is emerging again as a sacred site for tourism. Can Bethlehem – the center of the ageless Christmas story be the center of and catalyst for peace in the region? Maybe!
Having spent time in this lovely town, one is immediately captivated by the surroundings; on an early evening as dusk settles in and the stars emerge above the hills in that magical moment of blue sky becoming black night, one cannot help but be transported back 2,000 years to that most holy night of Christ’s birth. Bethlehem is a magical place – a restorative place. And of course, a touristy place. But that’s okay – people have to make a living and when they can feed their families through commerce, they are less likely to strap on a bomb or toss rocks and bottles. Bethlehem is “behind the lines” in terms of the conflict. It is Palestinian, which is to say, drawn into and part of the conflict. From the Palestinian perspective, Israel’s security wall and policies, including building settlements, is the problem standing in the way of peace. Fortunately, there are enough Palestinians in the town who will also admit Israel has made Bethlehem one of the easiest places to transit, resulting in an almost double digit rise in tourism related revenue since 2008. Israel will counter that if Palestine would stop lobbing rockets and trying to plant improvised explosive devices (IED), the security wall and policies would not be necessary. As I’ve written in the past, there is no moral equivalencebetween the two sides – more on this in an upcoming series on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on recent work in the region. But unlike other parts of the West Bank and Gaza, Bethlehem is different, and has historically demonstrated a greater potential for that all elusive notion of Peace…perhaps not a true bonhomie between peoples, but a peaceful accord to coexist tolerantly and for commercially symbiotic purposes. For the moment, that would do!
Bethlehem before the second intifada was a Middle East Christmas town – and religious Rosetta stone – I took photos of Santa decorations only a block from Manger Square. There were lighted Menorahs in the windows of flats on side streets leading up to the Church of the Nativity. There were hundreds of nuns queuing up to enter the holy sites. And there was a minaret where the calling of the prayers was being announced. Détente! Perhaps it was for tourism dollars, but nevertheless it was peaceful and safe. And it can be so again.
“From tiny acorns a mighty oak arises.”
Bethlehem can be instructive for the Middle East and other parts of the world in terms of peaceful coexistence. And therein is the magic of Christmas. It is this wonderful holiday that shines a light on a small town of no other real consequence except that it truly is the convergence point of three great religions, and though the imperative is economic, the outcome would be the same…putting aside differences for a common result. Isn’t that a workable definition of “peace?”
But one of the challenges to “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Mankind” is our über stubbornness, ego or narcissism. No one wants to be the first to say “I’m sorry,” or “let’s put aside our differences.” Everyone wants the last word or wants to be able to claim the moral high ground…”you started it.” Sometimes I think I’m listening to children instead of government leaders.
Peace on Earth…By what definition?
Conflicts at the upper levels are rarely about religion – that is merely the rallying cry for the masses, the suicide bombers seeking martyrdom and glory. Notice none of the Saudi princes’ or any of Ahmadinejad’s relatives or Arafat’s kids strapped on an IED! The leaders – Ahmadinejad, Hussein, and Arafat – are in it for the same reasons Hitler was in it: power. Peace on Earth only works when we are smart enough to keep out these types of leaders, and courageous enough to lead from the heart, the streets, and the minds of like-minded people who think coexistence even if it is through commerce is better than conflict. The conflict in the Middle East at the street level maybe about religion, religious tolerance and the perception of oppression. At the upper levels it is about eliminating the State of Israel and about power and survival to remain in office. Since the need for control and power are visceral level human emotions, unless you can change the human heart, peace on earth may be a difficult reality. But hey, if it can happen to Ebenezer it can happen anywhere, right?
As I wrote in last year’s Christmas article, there are many definitions for “peace.” Peace by appeasement (peace at any price), which sacrifices morality, people and justice for the sake of safety or avoidance of conflict even when that is the resort of best option – think Neville Chamberlain and the millions who died due to his cowardice and inaction.
Then there is the Peace by acquiescence – Jimmy Carter’s version and possibly this administration’s version – talk fests that look good on paper and provide job security for diplomats. Think the IAEA and IRAN.
Teddy Roosevelt’s practicum on peace and one of the few folks who actually made the Nobel Peace Prize look worth having – “speak softly and carry a big stick.” The olive branch and the sword. You need the resolve to do both in order to sustain peace. Human behavior cannot be trusted without the carrot and the stick. It is the sad reality to which few want to admit.
Sun Tzu opined centuries ago “If you want peace, prepare for war.” It is an age old axiom that our enemies know better than we do. It is often misquoted as a justification for violence. Wrong! It is a caution to demonstrate the resolve to use force to defend oneself or ideals, not a willingness to kill or destroy. Especially in Middle East culture, strength is valued, weakness is exploited. Perception is power.
Someone please send a copy of The Art of War to the current administration for Christmas. It is a primer of avoiding bloodshed through the projection of power.
From a security perspective, which should not be in conflict with the Christmas perspective, “Peace” takes on a cautionary tone. And strength alone isn’t the answer. We need resolve to promote peace, to get involved in the difficult situations domestically and abroad to ensure the internal and external security of the United States and our interests. The administration needs to be reminded of this.
And like Bethlehem, there is greater likelihood of peaceful coexistence and harmony if people are working, able to provide for their families. There’s a lesson from Bethlehem – let’s get the US economy fundamentally on its feet – with industry, not service company bailouts., midnight basketball but with the hard call – stemming piracy, leveling the currency valuation and tariff playing field for starters.
Business is War – The mantra of Japan. They forgot it and so did we. Peace is not just something that is associated with armed conflict – the power of the pen to destabilize an economy is no less deadly or deleterious to a society – and one we have not kept our sights on.
Discussion
One has to wonder, looking at the year in review and the prospects for 2010 what are the chances are for “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Mankind?” Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Darfur, Eastern Africa, Phoenix, Mexico City, North Korea, China, Russia, the UN, and yes even events in the United States. We have a long way to go to become “Ebenezer the Redeemed” – as people, nations or the world. Next week I’ll recap just how well our leaders did on my Christmas 2008 wish list, and in anticipation of Janus’ visit, look ahead to the key tasks facing us in 2010.
We all long for a Currier and Ives image of Christmas – snow gently wafting down on trees and bushes adorned with lights, the smell of fireplaces in the distance and a home full of friends and family. It’s an ideal worth pursuing. But the stark contrast between our reality and that of those less fortunate give us pause to ask is “peace on earth” even remotely possible – and how do we define it? The answer to the latter effectively frames the former.
Iran is nuclear capable – to suggest otherwise if pure folly. Is war far off – do we, should we resort to conflict to stave off the threat of radioactive materials, dirty bombs or small suitcase thermonuclear devices being slipped off the back of the truck to Jihadists, courtesy of Tehran, given that is more likely than Ahmadinejad flipping the switch and launching a nuclear warhead towards Tel Aviv or Istanbul. Although given his level of genius balanced against his level of pure crazy, one can’t discount the missile scenario. Peaceful approaches, dare I say at this time of year, may not be the best ones.
In our quest for peace, let’s not focus too far from home. This Christmas, thousands of veterans will be homeless and hungry – yes, the very people upon whose shoulders our nation’s security rests, will be sleeping in the cold. Then there is Phoenix – the kidnapping capital of the U.S. As we speak, there are thousands of women and children being trafficked, selling their bodies for sex and survival, or being beaten as part of a pandemic of domestic violence. Our economy is in shambles, the U.S. barely manufactures things and the mismatch in commercial power geoglobally is drastically in favor of China – an economic juggernaut that is systematically undermining the U.S. and our workers. War, financial challenges, hunger, homelessness – that is the Christmas reality for many of our fellow citizens from Anchorage to Afghanistan.
The True Message of Christmas
Perhaps “Peace on Earth” is just too big a nut to crack, and a tad ambitious. Personally I’d settle for eliminating homelessness in my community, reducing the number of kids who go to school hungry and without adequate food, stemming the tide of domestic violence, stopping the flow of women and children trafficked in and through the U.S., and the revitalization of programs that provide the support and allow for the dignity of our veterans who sacrificed so much.
When we see signs directing an ever increasing number of people to soup kitchens or food banks, hearing the familiar bells of the Salvation Army volunteers at the malls or shopping centers, alerting us to their red Christmas kettles (started by a relative…Captain McFee in San Francisco), we are daily reminded of the opportunities to help others.
Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas so succinctly told us the story of Christmas as recounted in Luke.
“You shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was a Host of Heavenly Angles singing Glory to God on the Highest and Peace to His People on earth.”
We – Christian and non Christian alike – are His people.
The message of Christmas is about daily events. God did not send a message through legions of angels or in the creation of a king surrounded by warriors and mighty weapons (although God wasn’t averse to suggesting those tactics from time to time). And He didn’t send his Son to be born in a rulers family to be visibly a prince or future king. Jesus was born of lowly means in a working class, blue collar family – something so simple as the birth of a child. The story and the extraordinary life of a man dedicated to helping others and exhorting people to be kinder to each other, and focused on the teachings of the almighty. Perhaps that is why, 2,000 years later, we say Merry Christmas and celebrate such a commonplace event – the birth of a child. Why? Because life is where you live it in the daily events, not in the abstract, exotic but in the routine….that is where most hurts or healing occur. And, because the message and the Man who lived it were anything but commonplace!
“America is great because she is good.” –Alexis DeTocqueville
Is it any wonder that the U.S. has been the peace broker in the world? In the course of my travels, one of the common themes I hear when speaking with folks in different nations from Mexico to Morocco, Ireland to Israel, just how friendly and helpful Americans are to strangers. More than I can count have told me about occasions when he or she as a foreigner was lost or needed assistance, only to find a ready helper from the streets of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and even a few places like East Cupcake and Podunk! Nations are only reflections of their peoples and leaders. If people can’t get along, how can anyone expect nations to do so? Conversely when people do get along on a street level, peace is more likely at the upper echelons – but with caveats.
Conclusion
Listening to the Christmas carols playing on our car stereos, stopping an extra moment at the traffic light to admire the downtown decorations, we grow nostalgic for the seemingly simpler and kinder times of our childhood and yearn for the day when indeed it is the year when Christ’s message…God’s message will become mankind’s reality. God’s hope was for a time when there is a coming together of all peoples, more than momentary acts of seasonal kindness, and a cessation of violence because the heart of darkness causing the conflicts have changed. Alas, we are met by the stark contradiction between what we wish for and what we live through.
At this sacred time of year we often look inwards into our own spirit and become more keenly aware of the surroundings we live in. Everyone wants World Peace….but as the song says, “let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me”…through the kind acts of putting money in the Salvation Army kettle, becoming a big brother or sister to a kid who will sorely need the mentoring of a solid, successful adult, volunteering your time, talent and treasure to one of many good causes, lobbying for better benefits for our returning warriors, getting involved to right wrongs, or mending fences between family or friends too long estranged.
The global reality of violence, hunger and deprivation, are not so far away on the streets of our cities, in the homes of our neighbors. Like the simple message of the Birth in the manger over 2,000 years ago, perhaps peace on earth starts with our own sphere of influence and grows from there…in getting along with our neighbors, in the kindness we show to those less fortunate, in the support we give to our fellow traveler to the grave. Perhaps the hardest thing will be to keep the spirits alive all year long in our hearts and deeds. But if old Ebenezer can do it, so can the readers of FSM!
Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas, joyous moments with friends or family, peace of heart and mind, and prayers that we’ll have leaders wise enough to keep our nation strong long after the decorations come down. And sharing in the inimitable words of Tiny Tim….”God Bless Us, every one!”
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Robin McFee is a physician and medical toxicologist. An expert in WMD preparedness, she is a consultant to government agencies, corporations and the media. Dr. McFee is the former director and cofounder of the Center for Bioterrorism Preparedness (CB PREP) and was bioweapons-science advisor to the Regional Domestic Security Task Force Region 7 after 9/11, as well as advisor on avian and swine flu preparedness to numerous agencies and organizations. Dr. McFee is a member of the Global Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime Council of ASIS International. She has authored numerous articles on terrorism, health care and preparedness, and c-oauthored two books: Toxico-terrorism by McGraw-Hill and The Handbook of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Agents, published by Informa/CRC Press.
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Her comment "Merry Christmas isn't an epithet" is right on! It would make for a nifty bumper sticker, too.
posted by: Bev Glenn
Friday, December 25, 2009 at 03:54 AM
