Time to put away the carping

The presents have been opened. The family have returned to their respective homes.

The joy of being with my children remains, along with some sadness that the time together couldn't longer, but that's what happens when they grow up and begin to build their own homes.

The trees are still up and lit -- one of my favorite parts of Christmas because the ornaments remind me of the years gone by. I'm sure they'll come down this weekend, and I'll miss the lights each evening.

As glorious as the Christmas season is, one aspect will not be missed: the annual carping about putting the Christ back in Christmas. The message has been the same for decades, only the reason for carping has changed.

The phrase used to be bandied about because we were afraid Christmas had become too commercial, now it is seen as a remedy to the so-called War on Christmas.

Thing I haven't figured out is why we keep pushing that worn out phrase. Christmas is more commercial and secular than ever. Do we really think that continuing to fuss about it is going to stem the tide, especially when the nation is even more diverse religiously than before? No one has ever satisfactorily explained to me how giving overworked, harried store clerks "permission" to violate their companies' rules wins hearts and minds to Jesus.

We are so combative these days. Editorial letter writers complain about every perceived slight to Christianity and whine that no one worries about offending us. Heck, they don't have to worry. We're offended by just about anything -- or nothing -- these days. Our sense of outrage grows almost daily.

We are a bunch of spoiled, former only children who have suddenly been faced by younger siblings. "Mom, he's picking on me again!" is our cry.

Of course, our mothers would have told us something along the lines of, "Honey, just ignore him. He's just try to get your goat. Every time you react, he gets what he wanted."

Of course some Christians suffer injustice, even persecution. But most of the stuff being carped about fails to rise to those levels. And given that Jesus warned us that the world would be against us, why do we continue to be surprised when it is, even here in America?

We are not called to protect the American way of life; we are called to live as the faithful disciples of Christ. And no, the two are not the same, no matter how much we believe that Christianity forms the underpinnings of our our culture and government.

We'd do well to complain less. And we'd also do well to remember that Jesus' harshest words were not to the Romans and pagans of his day. They were directed at the community of faith. The people who believed they enjoyed God's favor.

Maybe, just maybe, if we were to listen, we would hear the Master's voice telling us that the problem lies not so much with the government and the boards of corporations and "the media" but in ourselves.