This afternoon in U.S. History we saw a video on the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, and after Lincoln's assassination. Slave owners were angry at losing the war, which affected their plantation and devastated Southern economy. They were angry that their slaves were freed. Many of them killed their slaves or threatened to shoot anyone who didn't keep working. There were massacres in the streets and no one was held accountable. Without Lincoln to follow up on what he'd started, it seemed like the country was having a free-for-all murdering spree.
I was sickened as I was watching it. It's hard to dissassociate myself from the images and say, "shoot, the country sure was crazy back then!" I think of Hitler, a mentally ill paranoid man who gained enough power to annhilate 6 million people just because they were Jews. I think of the popularity of Trump, here in 2015, where we ought to know better. All this angry rhetoric and air-time for people who are just angry and want to draw followers who are also angry. Watching the video on the Reconstruction era didn't feel so distant We've got killing in our city streets. Now we have more sophisticated weaponry so we can do much more damage. We can kill more people.
Christmas is a hard time for me. It seems that a lot of horrible things happen at this end of the year. Eight years ago there was a mass shooting in a mall in Omaha close to Christmas. 9/11's shadow extended into December, of course, and beyond. This year, take your pick as to what images of blood and massacre we carry in our minds and hearts.
In addition to that, people are fighting about the color of a coffee cup or whether someone wishes them a "Happy Holiday" with the proper wording according to them. We allow loud mouth politicians to stir us up and encourage us to hate a whole group of people based on what the extremists among them do. Dear God, I hate to admit out loud that I'm a Christian anymore, because I want to explain.
I want to say, "I'm not that kind of Christian. I'm not angry or bitter or judgemental. I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to set off a bomb or shoot someone in the head. I'd be glad to wish you a Happy Hannakuh if you're a Jew or "Happy Holidays" if I don't know what, if any, religion you associate yourself with. I don't believe that Jesus was a pale-skinned, blue-eyed middle class preacher wearing a stylish suit. I believe he looked just like the people we want to kick off our airplanes because he had dark skin, black hair and brown eyes and had a "funny" accent." He didn't speak English!
I get discouraged. I'm glad I'm not leading a Church right now. I don't think I could go to meetings where my parishioners might wear a T shirt that expresses a desire to shoot an Arab (I had parishioners like that before). I don't think I could endure any more fights over whether or not we should have a projector in church or whether the songs are unsingable or how many bags of potato chips we need at the Vacation Bible School picnic. I don't think I could handle parishioners coming up to me and saying, "Thank you, Preacher, I agree with you, but I wouldn't say that too loud or I'd get in trouble...." I don't think I could listen to a sermon from another preacher talking about the comfort of Jesus and how he loves us, but a sermon that doesn't demand that we live our lives in radical obedience to his teachings of grace and mercy.
I don't know the answers. I just know that repeating the same things over and over throughout history doesn't fix anything. I know that killing and more guns and more hate only causes more blood and more pain. I know that Gandhi said "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves the whole world blind and toothless," and yet we still don't listen. It's too hard to think about what we can do in our small corner of the world, so we just blame all our problems on one group of people. Just because to us they are "strange" or "foreign" or different. I'm so tired of not wanting to say I'm a Christian because I'll be lumped in with all the mean, angry, unhappy, judgemental, ignorant people that get all the attention on T.V. or in best-selling books and who even run for president.
So I go home and I hug my daughter and my husband. I watch "Downton Abbey" and feel really good that Mr. Carson loves Mrs. Hughes or neither of the Bates' are in prison. I read books by intelligent people or about intelligent, courageous people who weren't afraid of being unpopular because they believed in what was right and good and of God. I write and read poetry. I try to be spread kindness and peace in my little corner of the world and help where I can. I tell people I love them and why I see beauty and light in them whenever I can.
I will not march to the drum of hate and anger. We were put on this earth to live and breathe Light and Love in the image of God. I believe God delights in goodness and beauty and joy and connection. God wants us to know the fullness of joy and part of knowing is sharing it, spreading it, fighting for it, but not with deadly weapons. By giving our hearts.
Sometimes I hate Christmas. I get tired of all the rude people in lines at the store or who cut me off on the road. I get tired of all the buying and all the greed. I get tired of the meanness and the "me, me, me-ness" of it all. That's not why we celebrate it. Who cares what we say to each other as long as it's good and kind and loving? Tell me "Happy Holidays" if you feel so inclined. Tell me "have a great day," "I wish you love, I wish you peace," or "here's a great cup of coffee". You don't have to give me anything but a smile, and if appropriate, a hug! Because I believe Jesus likes that sort of thing.
I think Jesus is trying to say, "Take care of each other. Take care of the world. Take care of those who can't take care of themselves. I don't care what words you use as long as what you are doing is Being Love. Being Kind and Merciful. Reminding people of me by your actions. Take care of each other."
This Christmas I'm going to turn out the lights and keep lighting candles. I'll keep hugging the people I love and telling them how precious they are. And I'll keep asking God, "Help." And I'll also thank God for all the good stuff I already have, the kind of stuff I can count on not to break down or malfunction or require an expensive upgrade.
Let's be the sane ones and the corny ones and the naive ones who still believe in Love. Take care of Each Other.
