thoughts: a bit disjointed

Once a month, I participate in InVert, a program for VISTAs which allows us to do “direct service”, as a change (and networking opportunity, ha) from our “indirect service” (office work). I look forward to these days for three reasons: the first being that VISTAs in the greater Harrisburg Area happen to be a boatload of fun, the second being that I like being out of the office for any and all changes of scenery/experiences, the third being I happen to love direct service. We planted trees in October, tutored ESL in November, and rang bells in December. This is correct--we rang bells for the Salvation Army outside Wal-Mart. (Talk about ideologically compromising situations.)

I stood outside from morning until night, ringing that (rather irritating) bell, wishing folks a wonderful holiday season. Sometimes I sang songs, sometimes I danced little jigs--to keep warm, yes, but also to spread the holiday cheer and elicit smiles from hurried holiday shoppers running between raindrops. I said “Merry Christmas”, but mostly stuck with “Happy Holidays”, for no other reason than that I didn’t want to isolate people from the holiday cheer who celebrated holidays other than Christmas.

I was a little surprised by some of the comments: In response to “Happy Holidays”, I heard:
“It’s ‘Merry Christmas’. Christmas is the holiday we’re celebrating,”
“Is this a political thing? Why won’t you just say it’s Christmas?”
“I’m a Republican and I would appreciate it if you would wish me a Merry Christmas.” (Note: I wished him a Merry Christmas, although the smile I mustered up was a bit forced, only because his sentences were consecutive.)
“Are you a Christian?” Even after my nod and affirmative response, this man passed me a track and explained the steps to peace with God.

I went home with ice cubes for fingers, a runny nose, and a question: How do those who do not celebrate Christmas perceive those of us who do?

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The next day, I was talking with my Orthodox Jewish coworker who was explaining to me that her children are really confused about Christianity because of Christmas. They don’t understand the scary old man with red cheeks, the bright lights and tinsel everywhere, and the songs on the radio that have little to nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. She drills into her kids the importance of service and giving back to the community and the rightness of taking care of other people, not because the Messiah has come (and released them from the six hundred some laws that Jewish people still live by), but because the Messiah has not come yet. Hm.

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The day after that, Jars of Clay, musicians I have grown with over the many years I’ve heard their music and resonated with their lyrics, sang these words: “Not all monsters are bad, but the ones who are good never do what they could. All the good monsters rattle their chains and dance around the open flames, and they make a lot of empty noise. While all of the bright eyes turn away, as if there wasn’t anything to say, about the justice and the mystery. Do you know what you are? And we are bored of all the things we know, and we are forms of everything we love.”