Christmas Day has come and gone and depending upon our personal beliefs we may have celebrated with our churches, or with family or maybe we went out for a Chinese dinner because not much else was open. In our now very secular nation we celebrate Christmas as a seasonal feeling of love, joy and peace. That seasonal celebration doesn’t particularly include celebrating the birth of Jesus for many people but even so they still desire what His presence brings – peace, joy and love – which really is the Spirit of Christ.
We walk. My husband, Neil, and I walk for our health. I try to get in at least 1 mile a day at a good clip and Neil joins me when he has time. Over the holidays I was pleasantly surprised when we passed others out walking and enjoying the fresh air, as we all cheerfully greeted each other.
What a joy it was for me to look at the person coming toward us and to see them actually smiling and making eye contact! It seems as if it has been years since that has occurred – possibly ever since the restrictions from Covid. But, this year was different. I waved and offered merry Christmas wishes to several people and they acknowledged me back with a greeting.
Just to be acknowledged felt like a great blessing because I am used to being sidestepped or ignored on my walks. I have felt invisible for years. I want and need that acknowledgment from others that we are all sharing in this life together.
I had these wonderful emotions welling up just because I was acknowledged. That gave me a bit of insight into what it is like for those less fortunate around us who are regularly ignored. I know when individuals in need come into the Food Cupboard they usually take their time and chat with us. Although we seldom see them in any other area of our lives they are greeted with love and joy when they arrive and I am sure, just as I was, their hearts are warmed by our caring.
We hunger for acknowledgment from our fellow humans. We are sharing our space on Earth with each other and it would be so nice if we would do it well. Not just politely – although that would be a start – but to do it the way Jesus would and did. Not to just tolerate each other but to actually love our fellow human beings. Everyone. The ones who we work with every day, the ones who don’t look like us, the ones who smell funny, the ones who need a hand up, and probably most especially the ones who hold different views than we do.
The loneliness that started with isolation and fear has moved close to turning us bitter. We actually have no choice about sharing this planet with each other, so it would do all of our hearts and souls well to learn to converse as Jesus did. Jesus’ communication with others can teach us much if we take time to read the Gospels and see Jesus’ brilliance played out.
If someone confronted Jesus about his opinion He often answered them with a question in return. For example, “Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife.” And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”
Following this example, Jesus teaches us that it is wise to find the source of the other’s beliefs and learn more before jumping in with our own answer. Background information helps our understanding in almost every area of decision making and especially in communicating with our fellow humans.
If others realize that Jesus’ teachings are my basis of belief than that explains a lot to them only if they know what those teachings are. If they don’t know what Jesus taught then that is the place to start the conversation.
Jesus tells us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I find the more I interact with others the more our Lord’s compassion sparks my heart to care for them, which often leads to praying for them as well.
My desire is that people will hold onto their Christmas spirit and keep that smile going when we meet. That all of us will be willing to take time to stop and chat with each other. We can hardly be a good witness for our Savior if we don’t even take the opportunity to recognize each other in our daily movements.
It could be that with the love of Jesus the secular Christmas spirit might be changed to the true Spirit of Christmas with Christ at the center of our lives every day.
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
