Secular Prayers?

I have just returned from a conference Christmas brunch for pastors and their spouses. A common theme heard around the brunch tables was the bemoaning of the secularization of the birth of our Lord. Is it possible that the way our culture celebrates Christmas is really a giant cry for God to come to earth? Is it possible that the excesses of this season are really prayers?

Might not the excessive decorations be a cry against the ugliness of our world? Every year the decorations seem to go up earlier and stay up later. I often see window candles burning all year.

Might not the emphasis upon gifts and giving be a cry against the stinginess and selfishness that dominates our society?

Might not the emphasis upon parties and family gatherings be a cry against isolation and lack of community, loneliness?

Might not the playing of Christmas music on radio stations twenty four hours a day be a cry against the harsh sounds, the discord that fills our ears?

Might not the community spirit of sharing that is revealed at this time of the year be a cry against the economic disparity that fills our nation?

Might not the abundance of food be a cry against the hunger that fills us all, rich and poor?

In short, might not the excesses of this season really be about a hunger for our lives and world to be different? Might not the excesses of this season really be prayers for God to come and make everything new? Are not the excesses of this season really cries for God?

After Christmas is over, reality sets in that nothing has changed. The world is still ugly, violent, lonely, greedy, noisy, and empty. The hungers are still there as well as now the debts.

Is not the ultimate answer to ugliness, self absorption, lack of community, spiritual hunger, and discord found in the one who comes to us in our Lord Jesus? Might not the secular Christmas season be one of the major opportunities we have to witness to the one who has come into the very midst of our hunger, violence, self absorption, noise, and isolation?

In this Jesus and his cross is community, forgiveness, reconciliation, meaning, sharing, beauty, and hope. God has heard the cries of his world and has come in our Lord Jesus and life will never be the same again. Is not our society desperately crying for what is already at hand? How do we help folks see their hungers for what they really are? How do we connect the cries of this season with the one who has heard the cries of the world and has come?

Perhaps this season is not a time to bemoan how the world is ruining our festival but the opportunity to celebrate, give thanks, and articulate the difference the birth of Jesus means.

On behalf of the synod staff, may the birth of our Lord Jesus drive you even deeper into life and our world and its cries and hurts. Merry Christmas.