We “Keep Christ in Christmas” during the Advent and Christmas season. For some reason we have trouble doing it the rest of the year, writes Julie VanSpall
Usually as a new year approaches I aspire to tweak my life. This year, however, rather than resolving to make radical differences, I hope to maintain the changes I’ve already adopted during the seasons of Advent and Christmas.
I am inspired to be my best self at Christmas, and I want to keep that spirit not only alive, but invigorated. I don’t want the Christmas season to be a sort of plateau, but rather a springboard for personal growth, particularly with regard to sharing my faith.
During Advent, I wish others a Merry Christmas – a Christian term – without hesitation. I speak openly about going to church. I talk about Jesus and the gift of his birth, and think nothing of it.
During the rest of the year, however, I often find myself less confident or open about my faith, especially when I’m in public circles.
During the second week of Advent, we heard the story of the paralytic. Friends of a paralyzed man, wanting to help him be cured, carried him on a stretcher to find Jesus. Realizing that crowds surrounded Jesus, “they went up on the roof and lowered (the paralytic) on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘As for you, your sins are forgiven.’” Then, “he said to the one who was paralyzed, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.’" (Luke 5: 19-24)
Many times I feel like that man, paralyzed not in body but in my faith – knowing that I want to defend my beliefs, but unable to move. I want to inspire people with my love for Jesus enough to make them love him too, but feel unable to find the right words to be convincing.
Without the right Bible quotes on the tip of my tongue to engage in a good debate, or to offer a sound rebuttal for a non-believer, I tend to sit quiet, rather than engage in confrontation. Even with fellow Catholics, I am often hesitant to express myself for fear of appearing as though I think I’m more religious than they are. Many times, I’d rather say nothing than to appear pushy, defensive, conceited, or even naive.
Bishop Robert Barron reflects on this Gospel as follows: “There are an awful lot of Catholics who are paralyzed, unable to move, frozen in regard to Christ and the Church. This might be from doubt, from fear, from anger, from old resentment, from ignorance, or from self-reproach.”
Father Justin Huang spoke of Catholic “shyness” in his Oct. 29, 2017, blog post entitled, “What’s Stopping Us From Giving Praise.” He states, “’why don’t you speak up when it’s necessary, or speak the uncomfortable truth, or tell people about Jesus?’ ‘I’m shy.’ That’s a problem. It’s one thing to be quiet, because being quiet is a choice, and, when the time comes for a quiet person to speak up or reach out to other people, they can do it. Shyness, on the other hand, prevents us from doing the right thing.”
In the new year, I aim to do the “right thing” and take steps toward overcoming my social faith-shyness. Bishop Barron states that “(my) job, as a believer, is to bring (paralyzed Catholics) to Christ.” It’s also my job, as a believer, to pick up my own stretcher and walk the talk.
Just as God gave the world a baby as the springboard of our faith, I intend to take baby steps toward becoming a more open Christian. I hope to pray with and discuss faith questions with those I trust so that I have support, encouragement, and different perspectives to guide me in my quest. As Father Huang says, “In my opinion, it’s more strange for someone who loves God not to praise him.”
Jesus’ birth wasn’t just the birth of a baby into the messiness of a stable. It was the birth of Christianity – God’s immersion into the messiness of human life. With the joy of Christ’s birth renewed in our hearts, let us go forth into 2018 sharing the good news with confidence.
It’s a new year! Praise God!