Homily for the Fourth Sunday of
Advent 22 December 2019
Trinity Episcopal Church, Topsfield, Massachusetts
The Rev’d John R. Clarke, Bridge
Priest
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”
No need to Google it. Everyone knows that’s St. Nick’s
parting shot from “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
Now, it’s not quite the “night before Christmas,”
but with under three shopping days remaining, it’s now or never if we’re going
to wade into this whole “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays” mess everyone with
an axe to grind has their knickers in a twist about.
So, as we lurch
inexorably toward the Christmas meltdown, just how are you going to extend greetings of the season?
St. Nick’s all-points "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night"? Slim it
down and you get “Merry Christmas!”
Or do we expand our best
wishes for the season to be more inclusive? Something like “Happy Holidays”?
Well, if you choose the “Merry Christmas” option, it
all depends on what you mean … how you mean it … and to whom you say it.
That requires getting into motives — maybe even agendas
— when we express best wishes of the season in stores, at the mall, at the post
office, here in the parish, among friends, among strangers ... total strangers.
Read: How likely are you to be the perpetrator in
an incident like the one outside a Phoenix, Arizona Walmart a few seasons back?
Salvation Army volunteer Kristina Vindiola was
doing what the Salvation Army folks do this time of year. She was ringing a bell
and had a red kettle prepped to receive donations to fund the Salvation Army’s
charitable work: feeding the poor … caring for the lonely … clothing people
down on their luck. In other words, helping our neighbors who have fallen into
the cracks.
Truth-in-advertising: This isn’t a plug for the
Salvation Army. I’m not at all keen on their anti-LGBTQ stances. No, not at
all. Your mileage may vary.
Nevertheless, clanging her bell and staffing her kettle,
Kristina Vindiola wished a passerby “Happy Holidays!” The woman reeled around
and snarled, “You’re supposed to say, ‘Merry Christmas!’” And no-sooner-than-you-can-say, “Blessed
are the peacemakers,” she hauls off and slugs Vindiola, knocking her to the
ground.
Triggering the question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how
likely are you to be charged with assault-and-battery if someone wishes you “Happy
Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”?
Because this incident has me just gobsmacked. I’m
wondering why “Merry Christmas” is such a sacred cow — you might even say, idol — to some people.
So, I’ve done a quick survey of news stories, blogs,
and what passes for critical thinking by the pundits on Fox yelling the loudest
this season of peace, love, and joy.
And my admittedly unscientific survey suggests three
possible meanings behind the greeting “Merry Christmas”: political … commercial
… and Christ-centered.
First, “Merry Christmas” as politics.
What does that sound like? It begins with the president
boasting, “Thanks to me, you can now say ‘Merry Christmas’ again.” I can’t tell
you what that even means, but I do know it plays funny with the Constitution.
Reality: This is nothing less than a skirmish in
the so-called “War on Christmas” or, “War on Christianity.” It’s an utter fabrication.
It has absolutely nothing at all to do with religion. And everything to do with
politics and ginning up the base.
Proof? No one — least of all the government — has
parked a tank on the parish lawn. Trust me. It’s the sort of thing you notice.
And those stories you hear about Nativity crèches
being banned from public buildings? For the life of me, I can’t think what
they’re doing there in the first place.
Do we erect crucifixes on Statehouse property on Good
Friday? Statues of Buddha on Buddha’s birthday? Or Krishna’s. Or the Mormons’
Joseph Smith?
More to the point: Would you want your heard-earned
tax dollars used to clutter up public property with symbols of sects you don’t believe
in … or religions you consider downright heretical, even satanic?
Meaning: What’s under attack isn’t Christianity.
What’s under attack is privilege — privilege bestowed by the accidents of history.
That’s because some of these folks who’ve had it
pretty good since 1776 are feeling a loss of privilege: the perceived right of some to clobber all with their brand of Christianity.
It seems, however, Jesus has a few things to say
about privilege, like, “The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.”
And what Jesus has to say on this score has everything
to do with how we say “Merry
Christmas” and to whom.
For example, to those who communicate an in-your-face
“Merry Christmas” — bullying total strangers, I ask, “Where ― in that ― is Jesus
… Jesus, who suffered and died at the hands of bullies?”
What, then, about the commercial meaning of “Merry Christmas”?
Factoid: Except for the crèche ― courtesy of mild-mannered
St. Francis of Assisi ― and St. Nicholas ― now a bleached bloviation of the olive-complected
fourth-century Bishop of Myra (in present-day Turkey) … and except for a
smattering of carols and chorales, just about all the trappings we have of
Christmas today are the products of 19th and 20th century merchandising.
In other words, “Merry Christmas” means good
business.
So, I have a problem when sales personnel are ordered
to wish customers, “Merry Christmas.” Because all I’m hearing is “Fa-la-la-la-la!
Ka-ching, ka-ching!”
But all is not lost. Plotting a course through the minefield
of “Merry-Christmas” as bad politics and good business, a lot of people — and I
mean a lot — have been circulating on
social media the “Happy Holidays Meme.” It’s gone viral because the optics are
good and the sentiment appears to make so much sense.
The optics: It’s a JPEG of a sheet of paper torn
from a legal pad. The text is handwritten in block letters, a different rainbow
color for each statement:
I don’t understand what the big deal is.
If you’re Jewish, wish me “Happy Hanukkah.”
If you’re Christian, wish me “Merry Christmas.”
If you’re African-American, wish me “Joyous
Kwanzaa.”
If you don’t prefer those, wish me “Happy
Holidays.” I will not be offended. I will be thankful you took the time to say
something nice to me.
Look, great sentiments. But there’s a problem: They
don’t reflect Jesus’ idea of hospitality to strangers. And Jesus is where we’re coming from, at least.
That is, the meme puts the focus on the disposition
of the greeter (let’s say, a salesperson). “If you, salesperson, are Jewish … if you are Christian
… if you are African-American and so on … wish me, the customer ….”
So, I’d like to flip it to shift the focus from the
greeter to the person being greeted. That is, from the customer's point of view:
If you can tell I’m an observant Jew, wish me
“Happy Hanukkah.”
If you can tell I’m a follower of Jesus, wish me
“Merry Christmas.”
If you know I celebrate Kwanzaa, wish me “Joyous
Kwanzaa.”
In the absence of any other data? Wish me “Happy
Holidays.”
And if you don’t wish me anything … who … cares?!!
Life is too short to shorten it further by carrying around a chip on your
shoulder!
Because the point isn’t politics. It isn’t sales
revenues. For us — as followers of Jesus — it’s funneling all our energy into Jesus’
take on Christmas … Jesus’ take on any holiday, any day:
If you can tell I’m hungry, give me food.
If you can tell I’m thirsty, give me something to drink.
If you can tell I’m a stranger, welcome me.
If you can tell I’m shy a warm coat in the shivering cold, give me clothing.
If you can tell I’m sick, help me get well.
If I’m in prison, visit me.
If you can tell I’m thirsty, give me something to drink.
If you can tell I’m a stranger, welcome me.
If you can tell I’m shy a warm coat in the shivering cold, give me clothing.
If you can tell I’m sick, help me get well.
If I’m in prison, visit me.
Bottom line: Nothing. Else. Matters … when we mean what we believe: “God bless us … everyone!”
Amen.