Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, and with apologies to Andy Williams, it may be the most wonderful time of the year. From Thanksgiving to New Years the focus on family, forgiveness and future hopes are packaged and wrapped neatly under the Christmas tree.
Since March COVID-19 has disrupted our entire lives and the story of its disruption has been told like an endlessly bad joke. We know about the social distancing protocols. We’ve seen the business sector take a huge hit. Questions about mental health are raised as children and parents struggle to educate at home. Who knew that the term “in person,” as a legitimate way to describe our church services, would be coined? Sickness, death and dread hover like a black cloud waiting to burst. Right now, it’s hard to be merry when COVID is everywhere. And so far this Christmas hasn’t been near as “wonderful” as prior Christmases.
As we’re stepping into Christmas, a few thoughts have been running through my mind worth sharing. First, history is replete with Christmas’s that have been far from wonderful. Just four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Germany (declaring war on Japan was a quicker process). By Christmas, America was committed to war with families sending their young men (and some young women) overseas. Nearly 300,000 never returned. Historians tell us that WWI left even a larger hole in people’s lives, taking years to heal (a reason why Europe was so slow to stop Germany’s aggression). The closest marker we have to understand COVID is the Spanish Flu which lasted two years, 1918-1920, and claimed nearly 700,000 lives. Maybe the deadliest disease was the Black Plague hitting Europe in 1347, lasting four years and claiming an estimated 25 million lives. These events are not included to minimize COVID and its impact on our lives, but to remind us that while the path we tread is new to us, it’s well worn by those who have gone on before us. Jesus walked with them through their Christmas seasons, and he’ll walk with us (Heb. 12:2; 13:8).
Secondly, Christmas this year has exposed what the marginalized have experienced: beneath the joy and laughter is pain and suffering. Significant pain and suffering. Social isolating has opened our eyes to the need of community and gathering. We miss our friends and family. We’re battling loneliness with mental health issues rising. But what all of us are struggling with is what many people deal with on a regular basis. People are estranged and longing for reconnection, even if they don’t understand how to reconnect (see Act. 2:42-47).
Thirdly, a better question than asking, “Why?” is “How long?” (Ps. 13:1-2). The “Why” question is usually unanswerable. Sometimes a direct line between cause and effect can be drawn. Sometimes. Most of the time a correlation does not exist. Sure, if you smoke a pack of cigarettes for thirty years you may end up with lung cancer or COPD. Or maybe you won’t. That’s part of the cause and effect weirdness. But more so, asking the “Why” question puts God in a defensive posture of blame. Directly or indirectly God is at fault for causing or allowing the bad to happen (when Jesus quotes the why question of Ps. 22:1, it’s relational and he’s not seeking an explanation). Even if we knew the “why,” it doesn’t change our situation, we still have to endure or give up. But the “How long” question steps far more into faith by enlisting God’s presence without further explanation. Since facts won’t change our situation, we need God’s assurance that our situation will come to an end.
Finally, instead of looking for the silver lining, be the silver lining for someone’s life. Make that extra phone call of encouragment. Provide a meal to a neighbor or family suffering through COVID. Send a Christmas card to someone who won’t receive cards. Be generous with the homeless. Purchase a meal for frontline workers. Maybe through our compassionate generosity we can make this a very merry Christmas anyway.
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)