Dear Parishioners,
How about this year let’s celebrate a counter-cultural Christmas? Instead of observing the winter holidays of overspending, overeating and overdoing, let’s find a better way to celebrate the Lord’s birth.
What would a counter-cultural Christmas be like? There would be less stress and more joy, less loneliness and more genuine
togetherness. Spending would be more reasonable. There would be more warmth and hospitality, and Christmas cheer
would be distributed more equitably between the haves and the have-nots. Above all, ―peace on earth would be much more
than mere wishful thinking.
Assuming that a countercultural Christmas would mirror the personal lifestyle of Jesus Christ we think we can say that it
would be a whole lot simpler. The first Christmas was radically simple. Weary travelers find shelter in a stable. A child is born,
and his parents are greeted by poor shepherds (outcasts living on the margins of their society) and angels who proclaim
―Peace on earth. Good will toward all. Family, hospitality and solidarity with all humankind are the profoundly simple themes
that surround the Lord’s birth.
Poverty, not excessive spending, would be characteristic of a countercultural Christmas. We understandably think of poverty
as a purely negative thing. No one wants to be poor – to have less than we need to live a full productive life. And yet, the
Lord constantly challenges His disciples to give up everything in order to live a richer and more rewarding life with Him. We
Christians believe that a freely-chosen poverty (as opposed to the kind of poverty that is imposed on us by forces beyond our
control) is liberating. It frees us from stress and anxiety. It helps to ―let go of our dependence on possessions, status and
inappropriate relationships. Like the infant Jesus, we let go absolutely and entrust ourselves to God’s provident care. We
become poor in spirit, stewards of all God’s material and spiritual gifts.
A countercultural Christmas would surely focus our attention on the needs of others. We would become more responsible for
the well-being of our family members, neighbors and all those who are ―furthest away and excluded. Christmas should not
be an occasion of selfishness. It is, first and foremost, a time for thinking of others. Generosity is the spirit of Christmas.
Self-giving and solidarity with others are the twin antidotes to depression, loneliness and the soul sickness that effects so
many of us at this ―jolly time of year. As Charles Dickens reminds us in the annual retelling of his ―A Christmas Carol, selfcenteredness makes us miserable; self-giving sets us free.
Christmas would be radically countercultural if we could find a way to bury the calculus of self-interest that we
carry with us all year long. ―What’s in it for me? is not a question for Christmas – or for any other time of year.
Holiday advertising (which seems to begin earlier each year) encourages us to covet things (material possessions,
status symbols, sensual pleasures). The insatiable desire for more is the very opposite of a Christmas
virtue. A countercultural Christmas would focus our attention outward – away from ourselves – towards those
who truly need and deserve our attention. Instead of asking, ―What’s in it for me? the Christmas question is
always ―What can I do for you – this Christmas season and throughout the New Year?
It won’t be easy to celebrate a countercultural Christmas. It goes against the grain of our many inclinations
and experience. And yet, one of the greatest gifts of this holy season is to see the things differently – with
the eyes of Christ who was simple, poor, responsible for others, and unconcerned about His own advantage.
This year let’s be more Christ-like. Let’s have a joyous, countercultural Christmas and a generous, stress-free
New Year!
Merry Christmas,
Fr. Jan
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