A Hope For 2011

In these, the waning days of 2010, there are all kinds of things going on to occupy the minds of people. Nuclear armaments, is the economy going to rebound, health care and the myriad of worries that accompany the uncertainty we find ourselves in. How are we going to deal with the upcoming year? Will it be better than this one? How are we going to pay for Steve’s college tuition, much less housing? The entire year has been a very stressful one for many of us. It has been a dreadful lesson in just how little we can control the circumstances of our lives. We thought we had it covered but we just didn’t see it coming. Or we saw it coming and couldn’t get out of the way.

The news tells us that consumer spending is up a few percentage points. The retailers are glad but I am not so sure that is good news. We got here by spending too much of our future and I hope we have learned a lesson about that as a nation. I wouldn’t depend on it. When I heard the news of the uptick in spending I immediately thought of the millions of people for whom Christmas has not be a credit driven orgiastic tribute to the marketing of Jolly Saint Nick. Some of us have not been hurt too badly by the economic downturn but that is probably due to not having too much to start with. The change was not that severe. If you don’t have a $250,000 mortgage you probably won’t miss not having the money for that payment. If you are not paying for a gigantic SUV or a BMW it matters little that you cannot afford that payment. In addition, those of us of small debts (and revenues) probably will not fear opening the mailbox next week..

The fact of the matter is that there are hordes of people who didn’t even have a Christmas tree or any gifts whatsoever. How many parents felt guilty because their children did not participate in this traditional homage to consumerism? Just to put it in perspective, my Mother recounts of the Christmas when she and her siblings got an orange for Christmas and it was a big deal.

Many of us are one generation removed from parents who did not even have the dream of the things that we now call essential. Our parents grew up during 25% unemployment and World War. When they went to finally build that dream house it only had one bathroom but it was inside. However it was a spacious 1200 square feet and the children had their own bedroom. Times were good. Many of them ended up with some money in the bank and a small retirement, enough for their needs, which were meager. That dream, however conservative it may seem now, may be out of the reach of many of our fellow citizens and not through any fault of their own. That worry free, if small, dream is increasingly distant for a lot of people who will have to start over with poor credit and a job that pays less, assuming they can find a job. Being over the age of 50 and jobless may now make one unemployable.

Santa Claus, Old Saint Nick, the Jolly Old Elf and all of the other names we given to the fictitious bringer of gifts belie the significant nature of the holiday. There are a lot of us who will claim the banner of Christianity but who will worship those imaginary creations designed to cause us to minimize the reason for the season. Of course, this season is little different from others on that account.

As most of us know, the holiday was created to observe the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth even though we don’t know the exact day or even the exact year with any degree of certainty. The date we use was almost certainly stolen from the Roman feast day of Saturnalia because people were already used to it but that is not so important.

For Christians it is significant because we believe that it was Jesus who was sent from God to redeem the human race from a fallen state and offer us a chance to attain paradise. I wonder sometimes how we allowed this promise to become less important to us than a diamond ring or a car with a bow around it. Furthermore, what does that say about our faith? Also, what does that say about our willingness to reach out to help our fellow traveler? After all, we are told that this world is not our home, that our kingdom does not exist here. If we believe that then why are we so preoccupied with trying to accumulate all that stuff that is going to stay here? It seems to be a contradiction.

As a fellow traveler, and one that succumbs to the same things you do, I commiserate with you in our folly and join you in taking the time to acknowledge One who is greater than a new PS3 and who will not be obsolete next Christmas.

It is phrase that many think of as being trite but my wish for the New Year is for the dismantling of the war machine and for Peace On Earth. Share with me the wonder of the miracle we acknowledge and consider how we may truly deserve the honor of His name in this coming year.

My take on the holiday and on the coming new year.