A Christmas Eve Sermon

Or Christmas Day?  I don't know, it's after midnight.  By all rights, I should be sleeping.

I'm posting tonight, but I don't really know anything unique or profound that I should write.  I have some writings I could share, but they aren't really done.  I could make something up, but it probably wouldn't be any good; I tried writing a little poem a few minutes ago, and I couldn't think of anything except the word "blue."  Now, I like the word "blue," but it takes more than just that to write anything.  If I want to write tonight, then I've got to write what I want to say.

So what should I say?  I guess that all I really want to say is "Merry Christmas."  I don't mean that as a political statement.  Whatever your holiday of choice, I'd be glad to hear that December 25th passed as pleasantly as possible for as many people as possible.  We might not be able to resist cynicism the rest of the year (I know I can't), but it's good to have at least one day set aside for feeling selfless. 

That's what Christmas is supposed to be, really: a celebration of selflessness.  Unfortunately, it can feel like the opposite sometimes.  Nothing involving this much money can ever be pure.  But if we want to give ourselves a worthy challenge, how about this: why not take the time to rearrange our lives to make other people comfortable?

Whether it's Jesus's birthday, Jesus's fake birthday, or just another Sunday, let's all act like decent human beings.   Hell, let's be merry.  Let's look at every ordinary thing like it's the coolest thing we've ever seen.  Let's act like we enjoy human company, even if it's with some unenthusiastic humans.  Let's pretend that the best way to serve our self interest is by serving the public interest, rather than the other way around.

OK, that turned into a little bit of a political statement.  I'm sorry.

(A brief aside to more pressing business.  If I don't get up and turn off the DVD player soon, those singers on the menu screen for A Christmas Carol are likely to keep singing forever.  Rest ye, merry gentlemen, indeed.)

So have a merry Christmas, everyone.  If you can, try to keep the merriment up through the New Year.  Longer, if you can; there's really no reason to stop, ever.  If you can't make it past January, though, don't worry about it.  Sober up and try again next year.