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Wednesday, December 10, 2003

'Tis the season.

Paula says it's time "to unstuff":

Juggernaut’s a perfect word for Christmas: a massive, inexorable god-bearing cart under whose wheels devotees hurl themselves, and are crushed. Instead of Krishna/Vishnu, of course, it carries Santa Claus, avatar of Jesus.

Yup, that's sometimes just how it feels. Revsparker writes:

The myth of the perfect holiday is not just a story. It's a cultural force that seems to batter the people whose lives don't quite look like the families on TV.

He reminds parishioners who feel overwhelmed by the season that "television commercials have scripts and good lighting and real life does not . . . for anyone."

I hope this is a season of merriment and renewal and joy for you, but if it isn't, I hope some of the deeper themes in the season speak to you instead. I once preached a sermon about how Christmas has come to mean expected surprises — There they are again! Those angels, those shepherds, the family at the manger, the wise men, the proclamation of good tidings of great joy! — but Advent reminds us about unexpected surprises, revelations you can't anticipate and don't always welcome. If a merry Christmas is out of the question, perhaps this is a season to consider divine interruptions instead.

Copyright © 2003 by Philocrites | Posted 10 December 2003 at 5:58 PM

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1 comments:

Melanie:

December 10, 2003 10:20 PM | Permalink for this comment

Chris,

I'm working on the divine interruptions this year,grateful for the Holy Spirit's sense of irony.



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