Free Fall into Christmas

Advent, like all liturgical seasons, grounds us in our human history. Each cycle of grace marks time and movement through history with people, events, and futures. The readings of Advent, for example, move us from the beginning at creation, through the salvation history of God’s People, to the birth of Christ, and finally we are urged to look to his return at the end of time. Real people, real interaction with God, real time descriptions of salvation events – all are shown to be part of the mystery of God-with-us.

What does our world look like this year as we approach Christmas? We might well look at the context of our holiday celebrating and our Christian faith. This important faith journey into the mystery of Christ, Emanuel, “God-with-us”, is yet another example of how God shows himself faithfully to his People in human history, with human words and human actions. Salvation history in the preached tradition and in the written word is not an abstraction, but real time and real historical interaction of God with his People. And, likewise, God’s People respond within their historical context.

God’s Word is always expressed and learned within a current vocabulary. The miracle of Incarnation is that God became man. Jesus, Son of God, takes on our humanness. He “becomes like us in all things but sin.” The vocabulary of our culture and times is the context in which God communicates and interacts with us to reveal himself to us. The revelatory process is not an exercise in abstraction of meaning. Rather, the faith community comes to know God in their historical context.

A predominant cultural theme is the language of “free fall”. The economy is said to be in a free fall along with the most recent news of unemployment in a free fall situation. To be expected from this cultural context, people are tempted to see their whole life including their faith in kind of a tumbling through unknown space. The challenge in movement through our historical space is how to measure our liturgical time.

Christmas Cultural Markers
The free fall vocabulary in this pre-Christmas season gets translated into an expression of uncertainty and a bit of confused faith. The seemingly traditional markers within our culture of Christmas are, not surprisingly, consumerism, lack of available cash and credit, and doubt of about how we shall celebrate Christmas this year. Secularity which has taken hold of Christmas threatens that, perhaps, Christmas this year may not be possible. A saving thought is that a rediscovery of faith markers may save us and the Christmas Season.

Breaking the Christmas Free Fall
In the real world of Christian believers, what are the cultural markers of faith? The challenge is to reestablish the language and ritual of our religious values. How has God spoken to us in the past? How does he continue to speak with us and act in our lives? What verbal and ritual language can fashion our faith response this year?

Within the faith community, Christmas is focused on Christ in the center of our human experience. While lights, tinsel, gift-giving, incessant music may usually feed our economy, we all believe and intensely know that there is more to Christmas than consumerism and economy, free fall or otherwise.

Suggestions to Break the Fall
The Tradition both of the Church as a context of faith and of our families as a locus of knowing God-with-us offers us grounding and direction in our spiritual life. Yes, that’s the point -- Christmas is a personal and communal spiritual journey. On the journey, we encounter Christ and each other joined to him.

Moving from a limited economy we might move in a renewed direction this year. Some of the direction is the tried and time-tested actions of faith. It’s a movement away from consumerism and our usual spending frenzy, which we can’t afford this year. How shall we mark our Christmas journey this year?

• Why not gather around the Lord’s Table on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day? There Christ is present among us.

• Why not take a look at the Christmas story in the scriptures both in Church and in your family home? There God talks and acts among his People once again.

• Why not bring your family around your Table for conversation and some love? This is the domestic Church at its best with Christ as the unseen guest in your home.

• Why not gather guests, family and neighbors, throughout the holidays? Share the good news of Christ, rather than the uncertainty of the market.

• Rather than gift-giving, maybe charity and caring for those in need will gladden our hearts. The good news of Christ came to the poor and needy first: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, those without power.

There’s no need to free fall into Christmas. Set up the markers for the journey. Prepare the way. As always, the Lord will be faithful to his People. The first place to know that fidelity is where People gather to eat and drink, to share stories of faith, and very directly love and embrace one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. That is the real free fall into God’s love in Christ Jesus.

CDH