How to really "Put Christ Back in Christmas"

"Really!?  You go away for months, not writing a single word here and you come back with that crap?  WTH?"

Yeah, I know it's a really trite statement for a headline, and every time I hear it I throw up a little in my mouth. But I was hoping it would piss you off just enough to read the rest.  Really want you in an agitated frame of mind for this.

I was out grocery shopping and finishing up at the checkout at one store.  As the bagger finished up he gave me a big grin and said "Happy Holidays!"

The human brain is amazing in how fast it can process thought, because this whole post came to me in the split second before I responded to his exclamation, which I will be my conclusion.

Every year around this time we enter into the great campaign to "put Christ back into Christmas" by making a distinct effort to say "Merry Christmas" to all, especially when others use the less specific "Happy Holidays."  We have conversations about it.  We hear sermons on it.  We even read blog posts on it.  It is a polarizing moment every Christmas season pitting dedicated and even nominal Christians on one side and non-believers on the other.  Well, that's not quite right. On the other side is a small contingent of angry anti-religionists.  In between is the larger component of people who aren't sure what the problem is.  Those are the people this post is about.

In the Christian world, we have this thing called "The Great Commission."  In Matthew 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to go into all the world spread the word.  The various translations say it differently, from teach to preach to "make disciples.  But the literal translation is "be a model of."  It's not about what you say, or yell or tell, it's about how you live.  So in the context of this post, I'm saying the best way to put Christ back in Christmas is to be like Christ.

So let's go back to the checkout at the store where the bagger wished me a happy holiday.  He wasn't making a theological statement.  I have no idea if he is or isn't a believer.  He may have very well been following a corporate policy.  But his attitude in delivering the non-committal benediction was heartfelt and enthusiastic.  All the above flashed through my mind at that moment and I put aside any sectarian discussion, looked him square in the eye, gave him my biggest smile and said "Thank you! Same to you and yours."

At that moment, we had reached an accord.  We wished each other well, warming in the glow of the beginning of a wondrous season and opening the possibilities of an incarnation of truth for both of us.  I had accepted what he offered without judgement or offense, just as Jesus had accepted the world without condition.  For a brief, shining moment, I felt joy and refused to let a theological position rob me and my new friend of that joy.

So in this season, put Christ back into Christmas by making a special effort to avoid judgement and confrontation for the sake of confrontation.  Be Christ for all this Christmas.