Holiday Diversity and Unity

WHEN my friend visited me this week, she gave me an unusual compliment.  “You have really nice skin,” she told me, and then added, “for a white woman.”  I invited her into my house and presented her a Kwanzaa gift that I had placed in a Hanukkah gift bag and placed under the Eid tree that I had decorated with Christmas ornaments.  When my friend’s visit was over, I waved goodbye as she drove away in a car sporting two bumper stickers –one that said “Black is beautiful” and the other “E pluribus unum” (Out of many, we are one).  My little world that day was just oozing with both diversity and unity. 

Christmas time coincides with several other holidays, including Eid al Adha this year (2007). Regardless of its roots, Christmas in America has evolved into a time for people of all faiths to join in festive traditions as Americans openly share faith, hope, and joy and collaborate on the most amazing, charitable ventures.  Christmas in America is a wonderful time to reflect on and appreciate our diversity and also our unity as God-loving people.  It’s an American holiday with American values of generosity and kindness.    After Irving Berlin had written the wildly popular song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” he was asked how he, a Jew, could find the passion to write a Christmas song.  He answered, “I can because I can write as an American.”

Unfortunately, Christmas is also a time for American arrogance, chauvinism, and materialism.  We live in a time when it’s fashionable to be offended.  People seem to be prepared to misinterpret others’ intentions and to be offended every time the world doesn’t revolve around them.  Many people, either for religious or anti-religious reasons, are offended by Christmas trees, angelic caroling, and even glitter-dusted, Christmas cards.  And “the reason for the season” seems to involve slugging someone over the last most popular toy of the year. 

A sign in front of a honky-tonk bar said, “Don’t X Christ out of Christmas.”  Why not?  The owners must have X’ed him out of the building before they turned it into a bar.  Or do they think that Jesus’ spirit is there with them, getting sloshed every weekend?  (Incidentally, the ‘X’ in ‘Xmas’ is not really an ‘X’; it’s a Greek letter that stands for Christ.) Being a Christian means to live a Christ-centered life, but most people in America have no idea of the true answers to “What would Jesus do?”  The true Jesus (peace upon him) has been exchanged for a Jesus created in our own image and who has no Jewish identity at all.  The American Jesus does not celebrate Hanukkah and has discarded Pesach in preference of Easter.  He does not even worship on the Jewish Sabbath (which is Saturday, not Sunday).

Still, Christ (which is Greek for ‘Messiah’) is a tie that binds the Abrahamic faiths as we hope for the peace and Jesus is to bring to the world before the final days.  Christmas in America is the one time of the year when all those who hope for the Messianic Age should be able to come together with an attitude of camaraderie.

On CBS “Sunday Morning,” actor/comedian Ben Stein said the following, in part:

“I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful, lit-up, bejeweled trees ‘Christmas trees.’ I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That’s what they are --Christmas trees.

“It doesn't bother me a bit when people say ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it’s just as fine with me as is the menorah a few hundred yards away.

“I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution, and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.

“….  Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on ‘the Early Show,’ and Jane Clayson asked her, ‘How could God let something like this happen?’ (regarding Katrina).

“Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, ‘I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government, and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?’

“…Madeleine Murray O'Hare [who was murdered] complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school; the Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself’; and we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about, and we said OK.

“Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no consciences, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ‘We reap what we sow.’

“Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing?”

Insh’Allah (God willing), Ben Stein’s Judeo-Christian message may eventually evolve into a Judeo-Christian-Muslim message.  American Muslims can speed up the evolution process by being an active participant in the Christmas message of joy to the world and good will to all people.  Merry Christmas!  Happy Eid!  And lots of etceteras!