Merry Christmas!
This joyous greeting is on many lips today as the Christian world once more commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.
A Provoan noted the other day that despite the warm and magical sound of the yuletide greeting it’s hard to get the Christmas spirit this year.
This may be true, what with delicate war-peace situations in the Mideast and in Southeast Asia plus problems at home.
Yet “Peace on Earth Good Will Toward Men” remains a goal whose reality is rooted in the message of the Savior, if people and nations would only heed it.
Commercialism of Christmas is seen by many as a deterrent to the real yule meaning – and yet gift-giving was part of the original Bethlehem Christmas story. It all depends upon the spirit in the gift giving and receiving, we suppose.
In this season, above the racket of the cash registers and the din of world problems, the Savior’s birth and His mission on earth shine forth as a beacon.
His message is for all men. It echoes across the ages at this season – a message of hope, of belief in the essential worth of mankind, a rebounding faith that despite all the sorrow men visit upon themselves they may be learning little by little how to live in peace with one another. It’s a message that has been relayed from one frustrated yet hopeful generation to another.
The Christmas message is as live and pertinent and hope-refreshing today as it was when it was first heard 2000 years ago.
There CAN be peace on earth if men will but have good will toward each other. There ARE tidings of great joy, if men will but unclog their ears of the noise and confusion they surround themselves with.
But as time and events go, we listen for a while; then all too many forget as the precious, perishable joy of the holiday is stored away and the cloak of cynicism and selfishness become evident again in the everyday world.
Many will forget Christmas – until another year, when its eternal message comes ringing back again, as new and fresh and real as ever. Forget? That’s the tragedy of it all. Why can’t we extend the Spirit of Christmas through the whole year?