Celebrating Christmas

I’ve spent the past two weeks in Japan. Like in America this time of year, the stores and streets in Japan are decorated with Christmas ornaments and trees, and holiday music is played in public areas. What is different from America is that less than one percent of the Japanese population is Christian. When I asked why they were celebrating Christmas, I was told that the Japanese people like the idea of peace, love, and giving to one another.

I have no complaints about non-Christians celebrating Christmas and I’ll even admit that the Japanese idea of Christmas is no different or less complete than that of many Americans. Witnessing this non-Christian celebration of Christmas has caused me to examine my own motives and actions in what Christmas means to me and how I celebrate this special season. In particular, I’ve been contemplating something written by Mary Baker Eddy, a 19th and early 20th century Christian healer and writer. She wrote:

In different ages the divine idea assumes different forms, according to humanity’s needs. In this age it assumes, more intelligently than ever before, the form of Christian healing. This is the babe we are to cherish.

I cherish the opportunities I’ve had this past year to experience the "babe" of Christian healing and to share Christian healing with others (Click on the “Healing” label at right for some examples). While it is nice to experience relief from physical and mental discomfort, what I am really grateful for is that each healing is evidence of the Christ - Emanuel, God-with-us. With this perspective, Christmas becomes a celebration, not of some past religious event or of some noble human actions, but of a present, universal truth – God’s kingdom here and now. That is something else we all can celebrate!

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