The other day, I asked a pastor friend how he was doing. He replied that he was kind of sad. This pastor has a habit of picking up strays. This time, a drug addicted and often homeless man he had been working with for a long time committed suicide. And if that weren't bad enough the Tulsa Police Department Chaplain was pressuring the pastor to come up with the money to bury the man. Neither this pastor nor his church have the money to spare to pay for even a modest burial. So, my pastor friend is now doing the same thing I used do on legal matters, going hat in hand trying to raise the funds or support in kind to do something that has to be done for someone who never really mattered much to a lot of people. Not a great lead in to the Christmas season.
This situation brings into sharp focus the other side of Christmas. For many it is not all tinsel and lights. For many, the Christmas season makes their situation worse. Every day is a struggle but now during this season when everyone around you is talking about hope and joy you just have none to share. There may be no money for gifts or even extra food. The rent is still past due and the utilities are still threatening. Some like this man may not have a place to sleep. Their family may have abandoned them. The enforced, institutionally expected joy of the season sharpens the edges of already hard life situations and forces some into the awful dark place where this homeless man chose a terrible solution to try to end the pain.
This Christmas, instead of JUST writing another check to the Rescue Mission or singing a few songs at the old folks home think about doing something personal. I'm not suggesting you pick up strays like my pastor friend. Over the years I've known a few Christians like him that are called to that ministry and God somehow watches over them despite the danger. If you're not called to that ministry and equipped for it it can be dangerous.
Think about asking that really annoying relative that nobody wants anything to do with over for a meal or coffee.
Think about going to the nursing home in your neighborhood (not the fancy one, the low budget one) and ask the nursing director or the social director who never gets any visits. Then visit them. You don't have to say you're from a church or a group. Just walk in, introduce yourself and strike up a conversation if they will talk to you or can talk to you. Visit with those who can't respond as well. Read to them. I used to play my uke. They may not appreciate it but stay unless they run you out. It's very easy to get bitter if you're stuck in a place like that and the only people you ever see are the staff.
Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. What better way to celebrate it than to imitate Him by serving those who cannot serve themselves and giving them a little human contact in what for many is the saddest, most difficult time of the year.
