As I sit down to compose my thoughts for this letter, I am mindful of the mood that is pervasive in this country and around the world. We live in a country and at a time in history that has been relatively peaceful and, for many of us, a time of increasing material wealth and well-being. Many of the stories and images that dominate this holiday season have taken on a Disneyesque view of reality. It is nice to be happy and have the things and toys that we want. While there is value in all of that, there is a deeper, more authentic meaning to Christmas that I have been reflecting on. The biblical story, upon which so many of our religious values are founded, is about a young couple that is homeless and is facing the personal crisis of doubt and uncertainty; that is, where to stay, where to have a child, how to survive in the face of so many unknowns. As we have learned through personal life experience, in the course of our journey in life, the solutions come from unexpected sources: from people we never knew before, from those who were always there in the bond of the relationships that we have cultivated along the way, and from deep inside of ourselves when we have the courage to face realities that are difficult and challenging. So, for the readers of this message, that will give you some sense of where my thoughts and feelings are for this holiday season.
As with everyone else in this country and around the world, this has been a very different year/two years; a period of time that none of us expected when we gathered to celebrate in past years. As Fred Rogers of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” reminded us, “We always have choices.” That is the realm in which we are most responsible and most personally effective. This particular situation of the COVID-19 pandemic brings with it a reminder of the reality that we are, from the very beginning of our existence, social beings; we always live in the context of relationships. So, the challenge as we make choices is to take the needs of others into account. That works more effectively when we make those choices, not because some outside authority prescribed it, but because we care for others. In a roundabout way, this is my way of describing what Christmas means to me.
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