The most wonderful gift

As I finish setting the gifts around the tree, and get ready to settle in for a short winter's nap (kids get up early on Christmas, y'know), I thought I'd share some reflections on The Gift behind all these other gifts.

Christmas begins with the amazing promise that Mary "'will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.' The name Immanuel means 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1:23)

What's so amazing about that? some people say. Look at the Greek and Hindu myths. Lots of cultures have stories of "gods" coming to earth.

Those are stories of gods disguising themselves in human forms. They don't become human; they just put on a human costume. Often they visit on a whim to have some sport with us or let us entertain them for a while.

Christmas is an entirely different kind of "God with us" story. It's a God who was born as we are, grew just as we grow, and experienced what we experience. He came to be one of us. He came to feel what we feel and know what we know.

"And the child grew and became strong. He was very wise. He was blessed by God's grace." (Luke 2:40) As Jesus grew, he experienced all the joys and sorrows, all the strengths and weaknesses, all the glories and despairs of human life.

Stephen Crane wrote, "A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!' 'However,' replied the universe, 'The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.'"

The gift of Christmas offers a rather more optimistic view of life. The ultimate reality in the universe is not philosophy's "unmoved mover" or science's inexorable, impersonal physical laws. Ultimate reality is a person who knows and cares.

The Bible promises Jesus "can feel it when we are weak and hurting" and he "has been tempted in every way, just as we are." (Hebrews 4:15) He has faced the trials and challenges we face, and he can help us face them successfully.

When we cry out in our joys and sorrows, the answer is not a cosmic shrug, "So what?" It is the rather warmer "I remember what that felt like and I can help you through it."

This truly is the most wonderful gift of Christmas: God with us, to stand by us and help us. When we cry out to Jesus, he answers, "I am here for you."

May that hope give us a truly happy new year!

"Being right is wrong," he said. "Are you right about that?" I asked

"Being right is wrong," the retired minister titled his reflection. After more than sixty years dealing with religion, he was discouraged. "As I watch religion function in this country and around the world, rather than experiencing hope, there is a great deal of disappointment."

The reason for his disappointment is one that resonates with many modern people. "The most divisive and damaging attitude is our insistence on being right. It is a global disaster and a local malady. ... Human beings are simply not privy to absolute truth."

This insistence on being right, the author declares, divides communities, nations, even families. And he is not alone in finding that a troubling thing. He concludes, "If the Spirit of God, through any religion, is to make humans gracious, then the attitude of being right paralyzes that function. To hold a personal, absolute, position on matters of faith is to miss the point."

Yet, it is the author who has missed the point. Think for a moment about what he has said. My editorial comments appear like this:

If the Spirit of God, through any religion, is to make humans gracious, then the attitude of being right paralyzes that function. [And I know I am right about this.] To hold a personal, absolute, position on matters of faith is to miss the point. [And I am absolutely sure about this.]

The argument collapses in self-contradiction. Is the statement "it's wrong to be right" right or wrong? If the statement is right, then it is wrong. And if it is wrong, then why try to persuade people it is right? And yet, that is exactly what the writer has tried to do.

Every religion claims the goal of putting the adherent in touch with ultimate reality, with truth beyond time. In Christianity, for example, as Jesus put it, the purpose of the Spirit of God is to lead us into truth. Polite and gracious behaviour grows out of that pursuit of the truth. It's important to be gracious in the pursuit of truth, but let's not confuse the method and the goal.