FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART
OP / ED BY DR. ROBERT KENNEDY
While thinking about breaking the legacy of the curse at Christmas time, I began to browse on Google and was surprised to find many books written with titles on the curse of Christmas. To mention three, I note (1) Gabriel and the Curse of Christmas, which is a story about witches, (2), The “Curse” Begins at Christmas, which is a book about a Christmas massacre in which an entire family was wiped out, and (3) The Christmas Curse, a part of a Novella series about haunted houses in England where families unwittingly go to spend their Christmas holidays. The titles suggest that instead of celebrating the joy of Christmas, many who celebrate find that Christmas offers them nothing but curses.
The titles aside, I think this Christmas is at least bringing a curse to many families worldwide. I think of the ongoing war in Ukraine with the darkness and harshness of the winter from the constant attacks of Russian drones and missiles and the displacement of millions of families from the war. I think of what is happening behind the scenes to families in Russia daring to protest the war. I think of what is happening in Iran to the women who are being arrested and hanged because they are protesting against the wearing of the Hijab imposed on them as a public dress code since 1979.
I think of the conditions in China, where the people are being surveilled against any interest they might have in protest against the government because of the constant lockdowns during the pandemic. I also think of what is happening to the thousands of families in tents in Mexico or those crossing the southern border of the United States with uncertainties. Finally, I think of what is happening to the millions of poor, hungry children worldwide who seem cursed this Christmas. Yes, many do not see Christmas as a blessing but a curse.
Well, just because we live in conditions where Christmas is celebrated with tinsels, lights and the news of Santa passing by, we must not assume that there are no curses in our situation. While my intent is not to bust anyone’s bubble, I must make it clear that many of us have fallen victim to the commercialization of Christmas in a way that instead of Christmas being a season of joy and peace, it has become a time of anxiety, worry, stress and busyness that any blessing we should receive is turned into a curse.
Not long ago, I read a brilliant editorial in a newspaper called The Targum, and it made clear that marketers are having a feast on the naivety of the millions. The editor’s point was that the businesses are framing their strategy to coax out the hands of the unsuspecting few bucks to the benefit of retailers. The comment is that the free market is based on manipulation; the marketers, therefore, present themselves in subtle and unexpected ways to call out any greed in us.
For example, a product on sale for $49.99 rather than $50.00 is a tactic businesses use to manipulate people into thinking the product is cheaper. The Christmas season is open for marketers because they make it seem that if you love your spouse, your friends or colleagues, your pastors, or who have you, you will buy them some gifts. So if you want to keep your kids’ faith in Santa Claus alive, you’d better buy them that new toy they want.
I do not want to “bust your bubbles” about exchanging gifts, but I think it important that you think about how we can get so caught up in the spirit of the holidays, especially that of Christmas, without recognizing that that which was supposed to be a blessing is turned into a curse. I am not saying you should not celebrate your holidays of Christmas, but, as I read in the editorial article, I noted from The Targum, “it should be done with a tighter wallet. Making gifts instead of buying them is a good first step, as well as denying business to companies that push Christmas and other holidays on every product they sell.”
Let me add five other steps.
- We should buy what we need and not just seek to satisfy our greed.
- Do not force yourself to buy what you cannot afford to please anyone.
- Do not run up credit to please anyone or respond to any commercial.
- Please do not buy your children stuff that they do not need.
- Consider the poor about you and be generous to them.
Remember that Christmas began as a pagan holiday, from the Saturnalia and Mithra sun worship in Rome. But as Christianity spread across Rome, efforts were made to incorporate the holidays to remind Christians of the birth of Christ. Unfortunately, much of the effort to Christianize Christmas is lost today because Christians and the world about Christianity have, once again, secularized and commercialized the season.
My point is simple. If at all you celebrate Christmas, be sure to make it a time to reflect on Christ and not to support the commerce in which the world is so caught up. Be careful how you might merge the pagan with the Christian or the profane with the holy. The wrong mixture will take the joy out of Christmas and continue the curse. We read in Hebrews 12:2 “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (ESV)
Let’s break any curse connected with Christmas by looking to Jesus.
