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I am a big believer in finding any excuse to experience joy, and one would be hard pressed to point to any other day on the calendar that offers more excuses for joy than today.
That’s not to say that Dec. 25th is the same for everyone. If you’re struggling today, for whatever reason, I see you. It’s okay to feel what you feel, and maybe that’s nothing much at all. Maybe today doesn’t mean anything more than yesterday or the day before, and that’s okay, too.
But goodness gracious, I love Christmas. It’s a day when the religious and secular alike set aside some time to be with the people they love and find every excuse to center joy in their lives.
There are tens of millions of people in this country who don’t worship Christ and woke up this specific morning with the intent to immerse themselves in joy: parents initially groggy and pre-caffeinated, children bursting at the seams to get the festivities rolling (likely at 7am or earlier), reunited relatives making memories over boardgames and holiday movies and renewing laughter over old memories.
It’s all so lovely to consider if you take a moment. Because today is full of joy, and it’s everywhere around us.
Even better: today also marks the beginning of Hanukkah, and this evening, the vast majority our Jewish siblings around the world will light the shammash and first night’s candle on their menorahs and gather with loved ones and be well situated in unyielding joy.
Joy! There is so much joy to be found. And we need it.
As a Christian, it’s very easy for me to find joy in the broad context of Christ if I’m willing to look for it.
If you’re a Christian, you’re taking time today to celebrate the life of a figure who advocated for all people and whose teachings are followed with far greater fidelity and reverence by many non-Christians than those of us who claim to worship Him.
And is it so hard to see why?
Jesus Christ was a child refugee, his family directly affected by persecution and resulting displacement, and his life mirrors the experience of so many migrants today who navigate the world with grave uncertainty, in search of nothing more than peace and security and dignity.
He was a radical for being fluent in the law and using that to advocate for universal health care and a redistribution of wealth, always favoring the most vulnerable in society and always insisting on humility in the most powerful.
He was undeniably a socialist in practice and preached against the pitfalls of what we now call capitalism.
He befriended sex workers and respected women as leaders and never shunned those thought to be medically “undesirable” and sought out all those who sinned as beloved children of God.
He was raised in a Jewish family, persecuted for being Jewish, and respected as a rabbi by many in his time.
He became one of the four major prophets in Islam, mentioned more often by name in the Qur’an than Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) and considered to be the Messiah by our Muslim siblings.
He is respected and revered by many of our Hindu siblings who think of him as a divine incarnation for his righteous living. Gandhi was famously moved by Christ’s Sermon on the Mount and observed the vast incongruence between Christ’s teachings and the curiously hypocritical practices of so many Christians.
He loved all people unconditionally, and he told all of us to love one another and love God and prioritize helping those in need.
Even setting aside all religious context for a moment, Christ was relentlessly an embodiment of compassion and seemingly obsessed with the everyday application of taking joy in the existence of each other.
This is my favorite day of the year because it offers a broad permission structure to be earnestly joyous in all the ways that community may offer, and I so wish such permission wasn’t necessary in the first place for every other day of the year.
I am joyful today for many reasons, and among them is the presence of all of you. I am thankful for your support, but more importantly, I am grateful that you exist.
I am forever and happily indebted to your collective warmth and proactive humanity.
Thankful for all of you and hoping today brings each one of you profound joy in a moment when it’s desperately needed.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and wishing all of you unbridled joy.
A wonderful missive. Thank you for your dedication to helping this nation realize its potential as a beacon of justice and freedom.
You put a big smile on my heart and in my face especially with this Linus picture. Thank you for being you and have a happy and peaceful day.