Some critical minds will insist on highlighting the crassness of the commercialization of what is supposed to be a spiritually significant season. They complain about the materialism that tends to ruin what should be a steadfast focus on our spiritual needs. Truth be told, the point they make is to be seriously considered; but even so, this is at best only a half-truth.
Some of us are fortunate enough to have all the things we need and want. The experience of being on the receiving end of another colorfully wrapped sweater or pack of socks elicits diminishing satisfaction over time. It is for this reason that the days immediately after the holidays are probably the busiest for returns in the retail world. Despite this being the case however, we should remind ourselves and each other that there are many who are cold and sockless around us, and in places near and far from us.
An awareness of this fact leads some to insist that their friends and family and colleagues focus instead on those in real need, and not stress about what gift they can get them for the holidays. It is gratifyingly wonderful to have others express their fondness and appreciation for us in the gifts they take time and resources to purchase for us. We do a noble service however, when, considering the redundancy of some gifts, we encourage them to identify a worthy cause and contribute to it instead. Or, as someone reasonably suggested to me, get their permission to pass on the gifts we receive to others who may be in dire material/spiritual need.
In the midst of a world of great abundance; there are hungry, lonely, naked, shelter-less souls. On the outer margins of our merrymaking are scores of broken and broken-hearted folk. Let us remember those who have no friends or family. Let us give some attention to those who need a gentle touch, or some kind of material support; and let us initiate acts toward them that reassures them that they are not non-entities.
The acts of giving and receiving create bridges in the course of our humanity that allow us to connect with each other in ways that sometimes become absent in the every-day-ness of our lives. Acts of charity allow us to facilitate the kind of connectedness that reminds us of our sacred duty to be one another’s keepers. Let us not forget that the essential focus of the season of goodwill should be the creation of communities where equity is the agency of peace; where hope replaces despair; and where love displaces fear.
The easily observed, and justifiable critique about how materialistic we have become in our focus during this season has its place. The exploitation of our most gracious instincts for economic gain is an ever present dynamic of our lives in the market-oriented environment in which we live. But we can, and we must, turn this critique inside out and upside down. The quasi-truthfulness inherent in the dichotomy between material and spiritual must here be addressed.
The perceived redundancy of gifts of bread and sweaters and socks for those who have, and therefore do not need them, may be an expression of a vapid materialism. But feeding and clothing and providing shelter for those in need is most definitely a spiritual imperative. Being with those we love and for whom we have a natural affinity is wonderful, even when done only out of a sense of familial or corporate duty. But when we act in concert, or as individuals, to bring hope and substance to the lives of the materially and spiritually dispossessed of our world, we are in fact engaging in the miraculous - as in the ultimate sense of the Divine becoming human… and dwelling in and among us.
The greatest of the gifts we give is the gift of the very best of ourselves to each other in a world that is in large measure spiritually unclothed, and hungry for a greater sense of connectedness. It is the gift of a Love that is present… and meaningful… and durable… and redemptive. A Love that is the agency of Peace on Earth … Goodwill toward its occupants.
One Love!
