Today I was challenged, why do I celebrate this commercial holiday and pass it on to my children. What could possibly merit the perpetuation of this madness?
I do, in fact have an issue with the entire Christmas hype. The manic shopping the gruelling pressure to get presents right and to pretend that everything is alright within the family to uphold some ideal of tranquility, balance and peace.
This is why I want to reframe the entire tradition. Christmas is first and foremost a celebration of our humanity. It is the divine source poured down into human form, sanctifying the human, the dirt and the grime, the blood and the visceral existence of humanity. It is the symbol of all that is holy weaved together with all that is mundane. It is the divine showing us that the divine source of love, god, is and has always been infused in all things created.
This baby that was born carried the message that this is the way, the truth and the life divine. To be fully human and fully divine. In fact he said that we will do greater things and reach higher, because of the spirit of love that will empower us to greatness.
Christmas is all about presence, being present with our humanity and our bodies, being present with our family and our loved ones, being present to the needs of our neighbours and the stranger in the land. At the same time it is being present to the divine, the power and the light that is part of our world, to be present with the hope and the love.
So in light of that: Merry Christmas to all of you!
