Christmas through the eyes of my son
December 24, 2010
I have two children – Thomas Jackson, soon turning four, and Sarah Connor Snodgrass, who just turned two. Last Christmas, Jackson was just about to turn three. He likely did not notice that the days had been getting shorter, and had just begun to get longer. Jackson did not know about the fall of humanity, and the savior God sent to get people on the rise again. Jackson didn’t even know about Santa Claus!
But one day he woke up and the whole world had changed. The house was full of relatives who’d traveled far to shower him with food, warmth, familial love and gifts. Gifts! On this day of all days, even his dad couldn’t get on his case (not with all those relatives around)! Well, Christmas passed, the relatives went home, the leftovers dwindled, the toys and clothes got toddlerized, and my son slipped into something of a melancholy. He started saying things, nonsense syllables strung together, but with that one word somewhere in there. BAH-ba-Blah-da-BLAH-blah-Christmas.”
And I realized…he was trying to remind me of something that he thought I’d forgotten. To Jackson, Christmas had not been one day of celebration, but a drastic re-structuring of society in which all energy would from henceforth be focused on lavishing food, love, warmth and gifts upon him. He thought Christmas was a revolution, and that nothing could ever be the same. But then the revolution was over, forgotten, and everybody just went on as if nothing had happened.
At the time, I’ll admit, I enjoyed this. You know, children are the most expensive form of free entertainment on Earth, so you take what you can get. And I was quietly amused, thinking “yeah, kid, just wait till you’re my age, and the most colorful thing you get for Christmas is wrapping paper, with the same gray thermal shirt I get every year.” But, as I’ve continued to think about it…maybe he was right, maybe I was wrong. Maybe that’s what Christmas SHOULD be, a drastic restructuring of society in which all energy is focused on giving food, warmth, love and gifts to children.
I study the Bible all the time, I have a Masters Degree in it, but somehow I think this three-year-old understood Christmas better than I do. The Gospel authors didn’t think of the birth of Jesus as a yearly festival of over-eating, credit cards and traffic jams… Well, traffic jam, yes, with all the descendants of David (and Solomon!) showing up in Bethlehem… But the Gospel authors really thought…after the coming of Jesus…nothing could ever be the same.
Happy New Year!
January 2, 2009
Last night, at Isaac and Katie’s cozy apartment in Washington Heights, Transmission held its 2008 New Year’s Eve get-together. Katie prepared a feast of shrimp in a spicy tomato marinade, Greek style mushroom pie, warm French bread, radishes with apple and celery spice, and flourless chocolate cake and pies for dessert. It was the height of delectability.
Present at the bash were myself, Isaac, Katie, two guests from an emergent church in Canberra, Australia, Mabel and three of her friends, Sarah, and Ula and her friend Steve.
We started out with a discussion of circumcision, December 31st being the Feast of the Circumcision, as well as the Feast of the Holy Name. Historically, this day, December 31, or the 4th of Tevet as the Hebrew calendar puts it, was the day the Christ child was circumcised and given the name Jesus. They actually went against the orders of the Archangel Gabriel who had said “His name shall be Emmanuel.” Emmanuel was Hebrew for God is with us. Jesus was derived from the older Hebrew name Yeshua, for God’s salvation. Though the earth didn’t swallow the family up for not following orders, you wonder whether there’d have been any difference if our savior had been named Emmanuel Christ!
Isaac explained to us that circumcision was, in the Jewish tradition, the way of marking the faithful. It was what separated them from others, and those who weren’t circumcised were to be cut off from their people. According to Genesis, God said that any uncircumcised male “has broken my covenant.”
However, in the years after Christ, the apostle Paul wrote that circumcision was meaningless: salvation came through the spirit, and had nothing to do with one’s skin.  He wrote in Philippians, “It is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.”
Yet there has remained debate over whether circumcision should be required or not. As some members pointed out, circumcising newborns used to be custom at hospitals, often done without asking parents. Only in recent years has that shifted.
Then came Isaac’s question: what for us is the mark of the faithful? What shows that we are Christians? And also what kind of judgment have we experienced from other Christians or have we shown towards others based on an outward characteristic?
Mabel spoke of her inability to sit next to homeless people on the subway, because of the smells. She was reminded of a friend who was able to do so without a second thought. I spoke of the word “saved” and the meaning people seem to attach to it as being a kind of rubber stamp of the Christian, in evangelical circles: it seems like saved is a status, a kind of static title one can hold. For me, though, salvation is a process we live throughout our lives. We can fall away from salvation or we can go towards it, and ultimately we never know whether we’re saved or not until our judgment comes.
After singing a psalm that Isaac had put to music, we enjoyed some good long conversation and singing around Isaac’s guitar. When midnight came, it was actually very casual: Isaac and Katie don’t have a TV or radio, so we just counted down ourselves using the clock on Isaac’s laptop. Afterwards, a brief toast and some more talking late into the morning hours before we all headed home. ( I had a strange journey home. Here’s the story…)
Bono once sang, “Nothing changes on New Year’s Day.” I happen to agree, but that line misses the point. New Year’s isn’t supposed to change anything: it’s meant to summon the hope of change, the hope of renewal. The idea that we can start over and wipe the slate clean, however much time it takes. Our new president is channeling that hope. Whether Obama lives up to his promises or not, these last months have brought many of us hope in a brighter future. What some see in Obama is exactly what the shepherds saw in the newborn Jesus: the arrival of a savior who could shake down unjust kingdoms and renew the earth. Let us rejoice in Him now and forever, and fulfill the promises that He made, whether our new earthly rulers do so or not.
Eighth Day of Christmas! This Wednesday! 8pm!
December 28, 2008
Hello, Transmissioners!
Until the 1970s, it was called the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord.¬† After that, it was called the Feast of the Holy Name.¬† Most people today just call it New Year’s Eve.¬† Whatever you want to call it, we’re celebrating it this Wednesday!¬† Between 8pm and 9pm, we’ll do a short ritual based on the Eighth Day of Christmas and the Bris of Christ, and from 9pm onwards we’ll just be partying – drinks, games, music, you name it.¬† If you have a friend you’ve been meaning to invite to Transmission, this would be a great week to do it!¬† All are welcome.