Commentary

Christmas carols and lights. Santas at the Mall.  Shopping lists and wrapping parties; Christmas cookies brought into the break room.  The wonderment of the Season is building, as is the rush to get everything done.  Many people of faith worry that such busyness means a loss of the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.  Perhaps that anxiety is overblown.

Somehow, the Spirit of Christ transcends in the sounds and smells of Christmas, even for people who have little conscious regard for the coming of our Savior. We live in a secular world, a largely secular America.  We live in a time of heightened social and political conflict.  Yet the shopping, the lights, the Christmas cards brings a healing.  This is a time when one can’t but help be drawn toward helping others, thanking those who have been with us, doing a little act of kindness for the gal at the Post Office.

Even for those who don’t know why… exactly … there is the Spirit of Christ dominating our society in these precious days before Christmas.

Isn’t it rather amazing that a secular music group produces their version of “Holy Night”? They might not truly appreciate the power of the words they sing so beautifully … but they are nevertheless helping to make a joyful noise unto the Lord.  Those given such talents by the Maker of the Universe are somehow brought to a place where those talents are used to proclaim the Gift of the Savior –  not unlike the Magi or the shepherds, men who were compelled to see the miracle of Jesus laying in a manger.

Let us enjoy the precious days of Christmas and draw comfort from the display of Christian values by personages like Santa Claus – even if many of the secular symbols of the Season don’t explicitly proclaim the Name of Christ. The virtues of hope, kindness and giving nevertheless point to Him.

For us, this is the most special holiday of the year. There is something so powerful about Christmas and the fight to protect the vulnerable new lives threatened by the darkness of abortion. The birth of Jesus, the miracle of Jesus, is heralded by each new life in the womb.

Join with us in giving thanks for all the miracles of this Christmas Season – including the opportunity to defend all of God’s innocents.

Blessings to you and your family.