God Bless Us, Every One

God Bless Us, Every One.

This morning I received this e-mail forward, sent with the good intentions of sending holiday greetings. At first I dumped it directly in my e-mail trash, but then couldn’t stop thinking about it. To say that this e-mail is ruining my days off would be overdramatic and to actually let it ruin my holiday would be “letting the terrorists win.”  But this year I can’t ignore the urge to say something in response (and yes, I will be sending a link to this post back to the original sender).

So I rummaged around in the trash and dug it back out.

I will be making a conscious effort to wish everyone a

Merry Christmas

this year

My way of saying that I am celebrating the birth of

Jesus Christ

So I am asking my email buddies, if you agree with me, 

to please do the same.

And if you'll pass this on to your email buddies, and so on...

maybe we can prevent one more tradition from being lost in the sea of

"Political Correctness".

This, my dear zealous Christian friends, is why Christians and non-Christians alike are annoyed and fed up with you. Sadly, some to the point of hatred.

Because, rather than simply and purely wishing the best of what true Christianity wants this holiday to stand for: peace, love, hope, sharing, bringing relief of the physical and mental strain many suffer, etc., once again, you make it all about you.

And not even your personal joys and hopes or witness. It’s all about you and your fears. You take a simple pledge to wish your fellow man a Merry Christmas instead of handing over the beautiful rose e’re blooming, you turn it into a dagger to stick into your neighbor’s eye.

Have you ever personally been attacked for smiling and wishing somebody a simple, Merry Christmas? Not just heard about it from a friend/relative/fellow church-goer or pastor/TV evangelist/Internet source?

And if any of you in northern Wisconsin have been attacked for wishing somebody a merry Christmas, consider that perhaps you – or the friend that you forwarded this e-mail from – did not wait to turn a cheek. Rather, somebody threw the first dagger as they approached the holiday with the idea that the best defense (against what?) is an overly active and paranoid offense.

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I can’t end on that note. Regardless of your personal beliefs, and even whether or not you agree with my thoughts, I truly do want to wish you all a merry, blessed, joyous, and renewing Christmas. This is my way of saying that I am celebrating the birth of the one who told us:

The second [greatest commandment] is, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

And:

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom.

Blessed are you who hunger, for you shall be satisfied.

Blessed are you who mourn, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you who are meek, for you shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are you who are pure of heart, for you shall see God.

Blessed are you, the peacemakers, for you are the children of God.

Blessed are you who seek justice, for justice shall be yours.

My prayer for you is that you go and share the peace. And not leave others thinking of you as an asshole.