Christmas, Culture and Charity — A Christmas Message From The Idaho Tribune
“For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulders...”
We often get distracted in life, thinking mostly about ourselves, our things, our wants and desires, across all of the spectrums within our lives; Socially, politically, economically… But there are a few times a year when our (now fading) Western culture used to make us all breathe, take a step back, and think about what is truly most important.
Christmas is one of those moments.
We live in a world at war, both in the material sense as well as the spiritual.
While we may appear to be better off today, with flat-screen tv’s on every wall, and a smartphone in every pocket; our culture, spiritually speaking, would resemble a bombed out town in the Donbass.
The word “culture” is derived from the Latin root cultus, which means “veneration,” “worship,” or quite literally “a religious cult.”
As Jesus Christ was born from the womb of the Virgin Mary; our culture was born out of the love, veneration, and worship of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Everything, everywhere, for all time should rightfully be with Him, through Him, and in Him. Our lives should be molded by His life. Our actions should mimic His.
And while we may fail, getting distracted with our families, our work, and with battles that seem to be raging within every facet of our world, frequently overcome by our own bad habits, that doesn’t mean that we should change His message to fit our lifestyle.
We are the ones who should conform to Him, not the other way around.
God took on flesh out of His Love for us. He laid down his life on the Cross, out of Love. He also flipped the tables of the money changers in the temple, out of Love.
Jesus never, NEVER, compromised. And we shouldn’t either.
Every battle we fight, be it in the classrooms, in the legislature, in the Republican Party, at North Idaho College, or wherever we may be, we must keep Jesus Christ at the center. We all must remain totally, and completely un-willing to compromise with the slavery of sin and the “comforts” of this world.
In his Nativity Sermon, St. John Chrysostom says:
“For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.”
Our culture has forgotten what Love means. The word “Love” is frequently abused by liberal activists and so called “Republicans” alike. Love, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is “to will the good of another,” meaning that you want what is best for another person.
What could be better than willing that your enemies come to Jesus Christ, break the chains of their slavery to sin, and spend eternity with Him in heaven?
This is our battle. This was His battle. This is why God became man.
From the moment of His birth, He, and His Mother, had one goal firmly fixed in their minds: the salvation of the human race. From the moment Mary said “let it be done unto me according to Thy Word” she submitted herself to God’s will, even if that meant watching her son suffer and die on the cross.
If we are to share in His life, as Christians, as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we will also suffer for it. But, we are meant to suffer joyfully, because the battle has already been won, even though we must still fight for Him in this life: socially, morally, economically, politically.
So this Christmas, amidst the in-laws, and the presents, and the egg-nog, take a moment to reflect on Christ’s life. The babe, born in a manger, in a stinky, smelly cave amongst animals outside of Bethlehem. The babe who was born to die, to free us from sin.
“What return shall I make to the Lord for all He has given to me? I will take the chalice of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord. Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies.”
Merry Christmas.