The Secular & the Sacred

I find myself on this Christmas Day longing to separate the ordinary from the sacred. I’ve been taught both: that these go together and these must never go together – yet the reality of who prescribes which combo is actually backwards in effect.

Growing up, the sacred and the secular were commanded as separate things.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17

The “world” was seen as evil and corrupt and God as holy and sacred. Yet, I find that in the midst of this message that was broadcasted loudly on Sunday mornings, it only applied at certain times. Over the last presidency it was made clear that those that wanted the world and God to be separate were not willing to hold that line when it came to politics. The religious tone of which side people were on – the judgement – the pride…something sacred was diluted for the sake of guilting people into choosing a side, and the outcome was atrocious.

Now you might be wondering why these thoughts are bubbling on Christmas Day, though it may already be obvious to some. Like the political dilution, today marks a cultural dilution. That may not even be the right word to describe what has happened to this day. People yell out loud to keep the CHRIST in CHRISTmas, but we fool ourselves if we try to make today about Christ and (fill in the blank)…

If you are willing to sacrifice the cultural creation of a pagan holiday in order to celebrate the birth of a Savior who exemplifies mercy, justice, and compassion, perhaps you’ve skirted around this issue. But for most American Christians, this holiday has been bombarded with gifts, time with family, good meals, memorable tunes – and to try to squeeze Jesus in to that story seems to me to be ludicrous. It’s as though we are afraid to enjoy something pagan unless we have something sacred to hide behind – a great disguise for our “worldly” desires. Yet we muddy the truth of our faith and pat ourselves for going to church, bringing our friends, and singing “go tell it on the mountain” to all who might hear. Only to find ourselves hurrying to the mall hours before to spend more than we can afford on one of many gifts that our niece will unwrap and add to her toy collection minutes after the service ends.

Can it just be that this day is secular – that it represents a time of celebration, a marking of the end of the year, and a way to come together to share our gifts/resources with one another? The rest of the year can be spent centered around a holy baby who turned into a man and taught us things like “whoever is without sin, be the first to throw a stone.” Whose mom Mary taught us what it’s like to take on a “secular” flesh as an unwed mother trying to flee from those who were waiting to condemn her. Whose dad Joseph taught us what it was like to stand beside someone he loved, even though everything around him would tell him not to trust her. These things are radical and meant to be remembered, but I know at least for my brain I can’t hold the holiness of the sacred 3 while opening gifts, singing jingle bells, and drinking my second glass of egg nog.

So I sit here this Christmas finding myself more than ever wanting to compartmentalize (something I was taught to never do with my faith) for the sake of enjoying a holiday of love and family and separating out the sacred to be celebrated at a time when there’s less noise.