Merry Muck

 

My ears perked up. Did she say what I thought she said?

I had been half listening to the Today Show. The program does a periodic panel discussion involving Matt Lauer, Star Jones, Donny Deutsch and Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical editor. The topic was whether or not it was OK to hire people to put up one’s Christmas tree or buy the gifts. After Ms. Jones said she focused on the religious meaning of Christmas Dr. Snyderman rather pompously said, “I don’t like the religious part. I think religion is what mucks the whole thing up.”

Um, what?

We are talking about Christmas, here, right? Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and its name is self-explanatory: Christ and the Roman Catholic mass celebrating His birth, literally “Christ’s mass”. So, Dr. Snyderman thinks Christmas gets “mucked up” by talking about the One the holiday is about? As far as I’m aware, when there’s a birthday party we are celebrating the person who’s having the birthday. But not Snyderman. She said she wanted to focus instead on green trees and snow.

Well, let’s see - there are a lot of parts to our Christmastime, lots of fun places to put our focus. Let’s “focus” on those green trees that Snyderman relishes. Is it Christmas if the tree is artificial or does it have to be formerly live? (After all, hardly anybody has a living, growing-in-dirt evergreen sparkling in their living room.) And what about those folks who prefer pink ones, or silver or white? When I was a kid it was all the rage to have flocked trees and I thought it would be just so marvelous if we could have one. But, no, just plain old green for us. Today we are currently using a 25 year old blue spruce of the comes-in-a-box variety and it suits us just fine, thank you. We’ve had “real” trees before (they toppled over), could have one again, and will likely purchase another artificial one in the future (don’t have to water ‘em or worry about how long they’re “up”). Trees are a beautiful part of Christmas, all shining with bright lights and sentimental ornaments. I love them all, but I don’t believe any one type makes or breaks Christmas. And, you know, “formerly live” trees dry out and are tossed once the season’s over; eventually the fakes make the ride of shame to the dump, too. So we wouldn’t want to focus too hard on trees.

Then there’s the snow. What about that focus? Lovely as it first falls and blankets our world, but what if our white Christmas isn’t? No Christmas then? Ask a native Floridian that question, or someone who lives on Maui. They “do Christmas” quite well without snowmen and icicles and blizzards. The two Christmases I spent in Hawaii were sandy by the sea and very merry to me. Besides, snow melts and disappears. It flubs the focus test.

How about Santa? I love him! Bringer of wishes, fulfiller of dreams - but yes, only in our dreams. We know that. My kids have always known that. He's a fun story, but not a true story. My kids have always known that, too. We can't focus on him.

Well, then, what about shopping and presents? Shall we focus on that? Everybody likes to get presents, don’t they? Unfortunately, many folks spend money they don’t have to buy things people don’t want. Somebody’s brand new dolly is going to break and you know that sweater is, ahem…not going to fit Uncle Phil. Good gifts are great, but our focus probably shouldn’t be there, either.

Sweet treats? Holiday parties? Sounds of the season? All delicious, fun and sweetly melodious.  But just like the trees that get landfilled, the snow that goes away and the toys that break, all those Christmas parts are so, so…well, unsubstantial (not real, lacking strength or solidity).  If our focus (our central or main point of attraction or attention) is on those things, Christmas might well get “mucked up.”

But Dr. Snyderman may also be right when she said Christmas gets “mucked up” by religion. It’s not “Religion-mas.” It’s not about church or rules or “shoulds or shouldn'ts.”  It’s about CHRISTmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, come to earth as a real babe to tell us about the real God the Father, to show us the real way. To one day die on a cross and rise again, to make a real way, the only way for us.

Delight in all the pleasures, all the parts of Christmas, but please don't "muck it up" - keep your attention on Jesus and the relationship you can have with Him. He’s real. Substantial. Strong. Solid. Everlasting. Worthy of your focus.

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”  Philippians 2:8-10