What Does Christmas Make You Think Of?

Higgins (who is British): Sam, so back home, what does Christmas make you think of?

Sam Obisanya (who is Nigerian): “Colonization.”

Season 2, Episode 4 of Ted Lasso “Carol of the Bells”

I made a thoughtless and culturally insensitive statement yesterday. Actually I thought I was being so culturally respectful. But I was wrong and I’ve apologized.

What is “woke” to some (assuming “wokeness” is bad) is “culturally aware” to others (assuming “cultural awareness” is good) and it divides us. Nevertheless, unless we never leave our hometown or meet someone of a different nationality or religion, it’s a natural part of our education. If we are very fortunate, God will bring people into our lives who think differently from us.

And so – for the love of God – we need to know that:

• Serving pork to a person who is Jewish or Muslim is most likely offensive.
• A woman showing up at an Orthodox Christian baptism without covering her head is most likely offensive.
• Devout Sikh men are required to wear a turban. Most Muslims do not wear turbans. (This was life-or-death knowledge after 9-11-01.) Also, no one should ever be killed – of any faith – for wearing a turban.

Many (most?) people in the Western world think of Santa/Saint Nick/Kriss Kringle when they think of Christmas. In the United States, people of other faiths hang stockings and decorate a tree. Christmas is a cultural celebration – even for many Christians – having less to do with God than twinkling lights and presents.

(Note: this post is not another criticism of saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” You do you.)

My point is that we in the West have no idea how many assumptions we make about Christmas in order to claim it only for people like us. We used the hymn “People, Look East” for our staff devotional this morning and it’s one of my favorites. But HH reminded me later that – if you happen to live in India or China or Australia – you would “look west” for the coming of Jesus in Bethlehem. This is true.

The Three Kings of the Christmas carol ostensibly came from the east: perhaps Persian, Arabia, and Babylonia. That would be Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq today – all east of Bethlehem. That makes sense when looking at a map.

But looking at the whole world and the whole of life strengthens our empathy muscles. As the saying goes:

“Everyone has two eyes, but no one has the same view,.

Empathy is a Biblical expression of love – no matter who says otherwise. My AI friend put it this way:

The main Greek words for compassion are σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagchnizomai), meaning a deep, gut-wrenching empathy leading to action, and οἰκτιρμός (oiktirmos)/ ἔλεος (eleos), referring to mercy, pity, or tender compassion. While splagchnizomai emphasizes visceral, active concern, oiktirmos/eleos highlights mercy and pity, with both reflecting a divine or human capacity for deep feeling for others’ suffering. 

It shows up in Matthew 9:36, Mark 1:41, and Luke 15:20. It was God who showed empathy in each of these stories.

We Church People are better at feeling mercy for others than showing active concern for the world. If we know anything about what’s happening in the United States right now, we know that there are brown and black people afraid of being taken from their families without due process. Most of those taken in the past weeks actually have citizenship or documentation. And even if they don’t, they deserve human respect. We might feel bad for them, but are our feelings leading to action?

Where people are illegally colonizing parts of Gaza and the West Bank, perhaps we feel a sense of injustice for the people who are being removed from their own land, but do we offer more than feelings?

I can hear you thinking, “Way to bum us out at Christmas, Jan.” And that’s not my intention. We can still find joy in all the lights and gifts and music of the season. And we can love God by loving those for whom Christmas means terror and grief. What if we answered the question: What Does Christmas Make You Think Of? by saying,

“I think of all the opportunities to actively love as God loves us.“

This includes making people feel comfortable in our families and in other families. It means sharing unexpected – and maybe undeserved – gifts. It includes bringing peace to those who are experiencing no peace.

It means building relationships with people who think differently from us. If you are able, please watch or rewatch the Carol of the Bells episode of Ted Lasso. The Higgins Family may or may not be Christian, but they spent one beautiful Christmas exemplifying the love of God to people who had gathered from North, South, East, and West.