Today's Scripture Reading (October 31, 2020): Matthew 7
"Want to keep Christ in
Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the
unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would
have done unto you." The words belong to American entrepreneur Steve
Maraboli, and he could not be more right. I have never really understood the "Keep
Christ in Christmas" message. I guess I do understand it from the
perspective of consumerism, but so much of Christmas is about a spirit of
giving to those less fortunate. And if you want to shorten the writing of Christmas,
transforming it into Xmas, I encourage you to do it. X was used in the early
church as a symbol of Christ; it was the cross laid on its side, recognizing that
Jesus defeated the cross.
I don't care what you want to call
the holiday. Wish me Happy Holidays, and I will smile and wish it right back to
you. The name just isn't relevant. As Christians, we need to keep Christ in
Christmas by reflecting the person of Christ to those around us. Of course,
that is also something that we should be doing all year long, not just when the
red and green decorations begin to appear in the stores, reminding us of the
coming festive season.
Of course, "and do unto others
as you would have done unto you" is not just a Christian sentiment. The
reality is that what we call "The Golden Rule" is one thing on which most
faith systems agree. And it is not surprising that "and do unto others as
you would have done unto you" forms part of the basis for a celebration
that we share with the world, regardless of the name that we might attach to
it. But Jesus adds that, at least for the Judeo-Christian faiths, "do unto
others as you would have done unto you" sums up everything that the Law
and Prophets were trying to achieve.
Yet, we miss the message. Too often,
we worry about the semantics of keeping Christ in Christmas rather than
forgiving the guilty and welcoming the unwanted. We try to keep the various
elements of the Law of Moses rather than feeding the hungry and clothing the
naked. We forget that what God demands of us has nothing to do with our rules
and everything to do with loving our neighbor.
Maraboli is right. We keep Christ
in Christmas by reflecting the image of Christ to the world, and everything
that he said was important. They will not know that we are Christians by our
stand on abortion and homosexuality. They will know we are Christians by the
way that we love those who disagree with us.
Today is Halloween. And beyond the reality
that that means in a few hours costumed children will be making their way through
the streets looking for candy, it also means that tomorrow the pumpkins and
costumes will begin to be put away, and the decorations reflecting the coming "Happy
Holidays" will begin to appear. And Christ will be in the holidays if we decide
to "feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the
unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would
have done unto you," regardless of the salutation you use, or how you
might spell Christmas.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Luke
11
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