Okay, Christmas doesn't really make me angry. But there is amazing potential for us to get in a big hissy about it. Originally I was going to call this post "Angst and Christmas" but realized you couldn't get mad about such a post. Instead, I decided to offend you.
Like how that works? What? Christmas makes me angry? Why would it to do that?
Well, it doesn't make me angry but it does seem to make other people really mad. That is to be expected in our society though, right? I used to look at British tabloids and think, "Dear God, what a joke. Are people really that into this stuff?"
After living with the media in America for the past year I can definitely say that we are addicted to the next big insult. It is like we sit around and wait for something to make us angry so we can be all fired up about it.
This Christmas I think that is a crock of ... fruitcake. We get so worked up about being against things. Sometimes I wonder if that is the only way we get worked up about anything. That can't be true - can it?
Christmas is ultimately not about being against the world but being for the world. God so loved the world, right? That God sent the son. Now well meaning people still somehow get all angst-ridden about the holidays. If it isn't the Christians whining about how the world has forgotten Jesus it is the normal folks (read: secular) whining about how the Christians are whining.
Basically there is a whole lot of whining going on. Sigh. I don't believe we must be trapped in this idea that our most "base" response is anger. We can get fired up about stuff but does that mean we have to be angry about it? I don't know. I do know that everything about Christmas tries to negate anger. We pray for peace. We sing for peace. We witness a birth that is supposed to bring peace. We strive for peace. Gift-giving is supposed to show how much we love our family and friends and give them a moment of... peace.
I'm tired of being angry. I'm tired of all of us being angry. I'm so ready for this baby to grow up and show the world how to love. This next year I'm going try to love like Jesus loves.
Hey, Merry Christmas. Holidays, yeah!
English: Santa Claus with a little girl Esperanto: Patro Kristnasko kaj malgranda knabino Suomi: Joulupukki ja pieni tyttö (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Like how that works? What? Christmas makes me angry? Why would it to do that?
Well, it doesn't make me angry but it does seem to make other people really mad. That is to be expected in our society though, right? I used to look at British tabloids and think, "Dear God, what a joke. Are people really that into this stuff?"
After living with the media in America for the past year I can definitely say that we are addicted to the next big insult. It is like we sit around and wait for something to make us angry so we can be all fired up about it.
This Christmas I think that is a crock of ... fruitcake. We get so worked up about being against things. Sometimes I wonder if that is the only way we get worked up about anything. That can't be true - can it?
Christmas is ultimately not about being against the world but being for the world. God so loved the world, right? That God sent the son. Now well meaning people still somehow get all angst-ridden about the holidays. If it isn't the Christians whining about how the world has forgotten Jesus it is the normal folks (read: secular) whining about how the Christians are whining.
Basically there is a whole lot of whining going on. Sigh. I don't believe we must be trapped in this idea that our most "base" response is anger. We can get fired up about stuff but does that mean we have to be angry about it? I don't know. I do know that everything about Christmas tries to negate anger. We pray for peace. We sing for peace. We witness a birth that is supposed to bring peace. We strive for peace. Gift-giving is supposed to show how much we love our family and friends and give them a moment of... peace.
I'm tired of being angry. I'm tired of all of us being angry. I'm so ready for this baby to grow up and show the world how to love. This next year I'm going try to love like Jesus loves.
Hey, Merry Christmas. Holidays, yeah!
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