Happy Boxing Day!

Yesterday was Christmas Day. A very long Christmas Day, entirely by my own design. I will tell you about my Christmas festivities, but first, let's talk about the world's.

For several months, issues of faith and the Church have haunted me. Most of my complaints are ideological -- related to the policies and politics of the Church -- but occasionally I find my self bothered by the theological, for example, the existence of Hell.

One thing I never doubted was that Christmas was an important day -- the second most important even -- for Christians. I was wrong.

Despite the rhetoric about the war on Christmas, Christians themselves have fired the shot heard around the world. With all of the talk about "Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas" and the anger at retailers not embracing the birth of the Lord, it's hard to figure out whose side I want to be on. I'll still likely wish you a "Merry Christmas" -- and hoping that if you don't celebrate Christmas, you'll tell me, or even better, share with me your faith tradition -- but I'm just fine with the people taking my money, and the credit card interest payments along with it, not harping about my Lord.

And then, when reading a story about a church in Glendale burning down, I read this nugget, "Because Christmas falls on Monday this year, many churches are not offering Christmas Day services, instead having celebrations Sunday morning and late Sunday night. (LA Times, 12/22/06)

Sure enough, an informal survey (including the largest Evangelical church in my hometown) shows that many Evangelical and Protestant churches offered no religious services on Christmas Day. Maybe they thought that with people attending on Sunday, it would just be too inconvenient to offer it again on Monday -- when we celebrate the birth of our Lord. Or maybe church attendance just gets in the way of the presents to be unwrapped and cocktails to be consumed.

I take great solace in knowing that my Church offered 6 Masses for the Sunday obligation, and another 11 for Christmas, of which 5 of those were actually said on Christmas Day -- whether a Monday or not.

In this spirit, I'd like to share a little reflection now that the Season is winding down and credit card bills are going out in the mail. It's a song originally recorded by Jackson Browne called, "The Rebel Jesus."

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season,
And the merchants windows are all bright
With the faces of the children.
And the families hurrying to their homes,
As the sky darkens and freezes.
They'll be gathering around the hearths and tales,
Giving thanks for all gods graces,
And the birth of the rebel Jesus.

Well, they call him by the prince of peace,
And they call him by the savior.
And they pray to him upon the seas,
And in every bold endeavor.
As they fill his churches with their pride and gold
And their faith in him increases,
But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in
From a temple to a robbers den,
In the words of the rebel Jesus.

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions.
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations.
And perhaps we give a little to the poor,
If the generosity should seize us.
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor,
They get the same as the rebel Jesus.

But please forgive me if I seem
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment.
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us.
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer,
From a heathen and a pagan,
On the side of the rebel Jesus.