-by Patrick Toomey
Unlike many on the left, I support the adage: “Keep Christ in Christmas.” I’ll ignore the fact that no one has a clue in what year (forget about the date) Jesus of Nazareth was born, and that no one has a clue where he was born, either. I wonder if he had any clue (or any interest) about the circumstances of his birth.
Instead, I note his message, which could easily fit a Bernie Sanders platform. How about:
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Or:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, “I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (NIV)
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
There are other similar passages, but these offer a representative sampling. It’s also worth reading this excerpt from Acts of the Apostles:
All the believers were together and shared everything. They would sell their land and the things they owned and then divide the money and give it to anyone who needed it.
The early Christians (who actually heard his message first hand) would’ve fit in a contemporary suburban megachurch about as comfortably as today’s GOP fits in a democratic republic. The Gospel message and the example of Jesus’ original followers fits the value system of our Age of Reagan about as well as a healthy diet would fit Donald Trump. There’s nothing in the Gospel about homosexuality, and its only comment of any kind about sexual morality was when Jesus saved a woman from getting murdered by a mob for committing adultery.
A society that excels at generating billionaires, that consciously ignores the irreparable harm it is causing to its home planet, that initiates wars of choice, and that spends almost $1 trillion annually on means of destruction and death treats the actual Christian message with the same respect that Trump treats the Constitution. Whether mangers are allowed in public spaces, whether people say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” and whether sufficient other outward signs of deference are shown to the Nativity Myth is of little moment. Whether we radically orient the organizing precepts of our society is the best measure of Keeping Christ in Christmas.
Given how Jesus’ human life ended (arguments about the Resurrection are for another day), abolishing the death penalty would be another fitting way to commemorate him. You can say I’m a dreamer I guess. I hope that I’m not the only one.