In response to In times of economic struggle, Americans must remember the spirit of giving"" by Joseph Koss:
Last semester Joseph Koss wrote a fine, warm, fuzzy-inspiring piece on Christmas and the spirit of giving, which was published in the Fall Finals Issue of The Daily Cardinal. Although Koss refers to Buddy from ""Elf"" and his meaning of Christmas not ""rooted in religiosity,"" he closes his piece with what appears to be a badly-mangled indirect quotation from the Bible (ellipse included in the original piece): ""And the Angel said unto them, fear not: for behold I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people ... and on earth peace, and goodwill toward men.""
This seems to be pulled from the Biblical book of Luke, chapter 2, verses 10-14: ""But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'""
Since these verses were brought up, in what I would consider to be a misleading fashion, I would like to attempt to clarify what is going on here. The peace and joy referred to are not due to laughter, gifts or the spirit of giving of the holiday season. The focus here is not on people, but instead on this baby - a baby who would be a savior. The presence of a savior implies that people needed saving - a far cry from being full of ""holiday cheer."" Just a few verses earlier, it is clear that the purpose of the savior is to save the people from their sin or their violations of the moral law. Upon brief examination, it would appear that all of us have done bad things (lying, stealing and cheating, to name a few), which deserve punishment.
I would like to suggest that this is the reason some people, particularly those in the Bible, celebrate Christmas. They celebrated because they knew they had done wrong, and that they deserved punishment. But instead of mercilessly overseeing judgment, God had provided a savior to take the punishment for them. We have the same opportunity today: repentance and faith in exchange for eternal life. And personally, I find it that much more satisfying and meaningful than mere holiday cheer.
- Timothy Reasa
UW-Madison
undeclared major
