A Christian Liberal is NOT an oxymoron.

Posted by XT on December 10th, 2008 in Progressive Faith

If I had written this last year, I probably would have joined Tim Schenck’s comments with my own. There is, after all, no way to burnish one’s religious bona fides faster than to decry the commercialization of Christmas. It is the foundational block of the faux “War on Christmas”.

Schenck writes:

I have nothing against mall Santas. Out of uniform, they’re among the jolliest people I know. So why can’t I stand going to the mall in December? It may be the endless soundtrack of cheesy Christmas carols, the tinseled decorations on steroids, or the forced joy that pervades each level. Obviously the hyper-consumerism is a turn-off but I think ultimately it’s the lack of anything having to do with faith. God is nowhere to be found. And “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” bumper stickers in the parking lot aren’t helpful.

Which is precisely why I love the season of Advent; it is so incredibly counter-cultural. Not in a tie-dyed, hippie kind of way but as a profound expression of faith in Jesus Christ. Because everywhere else Christmas has already come — it really started on Black Friday. Or perhaps the day after Halloween (it’s hard to tell). Throughout Advent, fake Santas are ho-ho-ho-ing, Christmas lights are flashing, and Rudolph is guiding Santa’s sleigh tonight. The “Christmas-Industrial Complex” spins wildly out of control and Advent gets swallowed up by the Yuletide behemoth.

Well, let’s try to unpack this – and I’ll show you how I learned to stop Grinching about and love Christmas. All of it.

If one believes that Christmas represents, if not exactly marks, that point in human history when God became human, if only for a brief period of time, so that he might better understand us and grant us mercy we could not possibly earn; then Christmas is surely a time to ponder exactly what that means – through the soulful contemplation of Advent. But it is also a time to throw caution to the wind and celebrate.

What is the story of the Prodigal Son but a lesson in how to truly celebrate? Don’t just throw a party – throw the best party you possibly can! Would the wise-men be criticized for their extravagant travel expense and the all-too-improper gifts that they lavished upon a new mother? No, they are the first to commercialize the holiday. Whoever brought the myrh probably would have brought a crystal myrh warmer if only they could have found a Wal-Mart. They were bringing their best. Whatever that means.

So we give gifts to each other rather than to Jesus. Are we not taught to be generous? “Do unto others” and all that, right? The problem with the commercialization of Christmas is that we are too narrow-minded with it and that we don’t do it all year long. Imagine if every person in America who professes to be a Christian decided in February to spend as much money on people outside of their family as they do on their family in December. Would we say that they were being too commercial because they sent clothes and food and toys for children? Or would we talk about how generous they are?

Commercialization is a necessary part of Christmas in a society that depends on division of labor. Those “cheesy Christmas carols”? Don’t they anchor us to our own past? If not, then it isn’t the fault of the songs. How many of them are, in essence, sacred songs?

Even Santa Claus is part Christian saint – Saint Nicholas was a real person and he embodied a type of commercialization in that he, reportedly, gave money to the poor. Money! Not hymnals or prayer books! How much of that money found its way back to the church?

I’m not trying to be Pollyannish about this. There are undoubtedly things going on that would make Jesus blush, if not shake with anger. But if he found out that people sometimes forget that his birthday is supposed to focus on him, and instead focus on those they love…well, I just can’t figure out why Jesus would be mad about that.

Come shopping with me and you’ll find someone who is a bit short-tempered about crowds and who is not overjoyed to have to search for parking. I’m human, after all. What I’m saying is that there is overflowing joy and love at this time of year, if we teach ourselves to look for it. Yes, we’ll have to look beyond the worst things that we expose when we are all overstressed because we want everything to be perfect for the ones we love. But, based on my limited experience this year, it’s worth doing.

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