Although I am almost 54 years old, I remember the nostalgia of Christmas past. The world awaited Christmas! There were no reported news stories of taking down "Merry Christmas" signs on fire station lawns and being concerned about manger scenes in public places. Everyone in department stores and grocery stores said, "Merry Christmas!" as their introductory and final greeting.
I recently visited my parents for an early Christmas in Florida. My father told me how surprised he was that he could not purchase a manger scene of the holy family anywhere! I was not surprised because each year I have seen an increasingly secular presence in our world that does not allow the spirit of Christmas to reign.
I have always made an effort to send Christmas stamps on my Christmas cards that are religious in nature depicting the Mother and Child. You are lucky if you find one such religious stamp at the post office today, but you will find an entire assortment of other holiday stamps.
Many families do get "caught up" in a worldly culture that does not want to offend anyone. We claim tolerance and respect for all peoples and religions and spiritualities ... and so we should. As Christians, we are called to honor and respect all religious traditions, but Christmas is about Jesus and, as Christians, we should not be afraid, or ashamed or embarrassed to share that truth.
Our workplaces, and even places of worship, are becoming so politically correct that very shortly our present young generation of children will never know about the birth of Jesus 2,009 years ago, and how the world has changed because of His Incarnation.
The Vatican II documents of the Catholic Church make reference to our respect for all peoples who believe in God and do not believe in God ... for all Christians and non-Christians. However, intrinsic in Christian teaching is to make the "Gospel" — the words and life of Jesus Christ — known to the world! Our call to faithful citizenship as Christians could never be more vital than today. All of us who profess to be Christian must "stand up" for Christ in our work, and in our play, our families and in our friendships.
It wasn't long ago in British history, when Catholics were "rounded up" and persecuted for attending the Catholic Mass. Are we returning to modern day persecution by the mere utterance of our religious expressions? In all our conversations for world peace and unity, are we placing "humanity" as our God rather than acknowledging that as human persons we are the "created and not the creator?"
When we espouse our faith today many will consider us weak, parochial and narrow minded. How often we have heard people say that they no longer need to believe in any particular religious tradition because they have "evolved." Jesus Christ has entered our world to free us from the bonds of our slavery to sin and human weakness. Jesus wants to redeem the human condition by the greatest sign of our faith, the Cross. As it has been said by saints and poets alike, "The wood of the cradle is the wood of the cross."
Next year, dust off your manger scene from the attic or make a simple one outside your front door. Christmas is about Jesus. Let us continue to tell the Christmas story that Christ has died ... Christ is risen ... Christ will come again! Merry Christmas!
Father Stephen Marcoux is pastor of St. Matthew Catholic Parish in Windham, N.H.
