From carols to cookies placed beside
the tree with milk for Santa, ‘tis the season for all sorts of
faith. When I was growing up, if someone asked if you had faith it
clearly meant one thing: belief. There was no faith apart from
belief. And those among us who may not truly “believe” are the
poor forgotten in fairy tales and the outsiders peering through
frosted glass in Christmas stories. Those without belief are the
object of change in the classic stories. Consider Miracle on 34th
Street, even Scrooge-like ridicule of the season, or prize in The
Polar Express. But does faith need to be about belief?
Is there a space beyond belief in
this season for merriment?
Although I no longer believe in a
host of things I once did, I still put up a Christmas tree as well
make Christmas cookies. I enjoy the occasional eggnog and even
indulge in cinnamon scented pinecones for Christmas décor. I do not
feel obligated to gift or go over board, but nor am I on any campaign
to keep the Christ in Christmas. I am not offended when strangers
wish me Happy Holidays and I gladly honor the wisdom of Hanukkah and
Winter Solstice alongside Christmas.
At the same time, I do not believe
that a messiah was born 2,000 years ago in December nor do I hold
that if I kindle the Yule log it will literally bring back the sun.
I am content to endorse metaphor when it comes to the oil in the
Temple as well as many other traditional stories of this season.
Does this mean we have no faith in
the season, that indeed we’ve lost the reason for the season?
Quite to the contrary, like many of
you, I have faith that these small traditions have an important
purpose. I have faith, or trust, that putting up the tree each year
with family is a moment when we rarely gather together in the quiet
of our home and remember the memory of each ornament. It’s an
important bittersweet inventory that reminds me of how precious time
truly is in our lives. I have faith that kindling the lights of the
menorah on our annual Hanukkah service will remind me of what it is
to keep the lights alive, and seeing the faces of those in our
community share food and connection will do the heart good. I have
faith that holding a seed in hand and welcoming the light back will
give me hope as the season of night turns to day. I have trust that
my New Year’s resolutions may not come true, but they are
worthwhile for writing. I will belt out “Gloria” on Christmas
Eve, knowing I have heard the sound of angels here on earth, in each
tender human voice that offers love and compassion in this season.
This is faith in its origin, from
fides, means to have trust in or confidence.
I am not without confidence in my
agnostic Christmas. Nor are a great many of us in this
community. We can still belt the carols with confidence that the
singing does the belly, if not the heart, good. We can put up a
tree, or not, and celebrate the light where we discover it. We can
kindle fires with the trust that the warmth we knew just a few months
earlier will return again. We can take up these traditions knowing
they link us not to belief but to people and places that have a
magic all their own.
It is confidence in the people, if
not the reasons. Trust in the rituals that hold us through winter,
and assurance through the little things now done for new purpose.
So Happy Holidays, friends, and Merry
Christmas, and Happy Hanukah, and Happy Winter Solstice! May the
celebrations of this season nurture your spirit into Spring.
In faith,
Rev. Robin
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