by Steve Smith and I were thinking along the same lines about the conundrum of whether to wish folks a Merry Christmas. My dilemma was in sorting my holiday/Christmas cards into the right piles, since some new folks have come onto the list, by marriage or otherwise. The debate over whether Christans have an obligation always to tell what they experience not only as true but as vital to life itself, which is in back of this dilemma, was resolved for me by theologian Walter Brueggeman. Recasting his metaphor into this setting, when we tell the story of Christmas (or the Passion), Christians are like trial witnesses, each of whom has the responsibility to tell what happened when called upon to do so, to “give [his or her] version of what is true. . . .” In the metaphor, he reminds us, each of us has “had access to that actual event, was there, saw it and experienced it, and so is qualified to give testimony. The actual event, however, is enormously supple and elusive and admits of many retellings, some of which are only shaded differently, but some of which are drastically different.”
The dilemma for Christians which Feldman raises quite sharply is when we are called upon to give that testimony, since no subpoena awaits us in modern life. Just for starters, a not quite apt analogy–because for Christians the stakes are so high–is thinking about when you would tell someone of an upcoming marriage or baby in your family. It’s an exciting event, and it has changed and will change your life, and indeed could change your hearer’s as well. For those who have obviously heard the story before and clearly are not interested, it is “piling on” to rehearse the story yet once again, at least right in their faces. They will come to ask if they’re curious to know more, at the right time. For those who experience your news as painful because of past experiences such as the loss of a pregnancy–and for many non-Christians in the U.S., especially for children, the pain of being excluded from social life because of the traditions of Christmas is palpable–it is difficult to see how it would be morally acceptable to remind them once again, at least to their faces. For those who are strangers, it’s probably best to know more about them before one makes the decision to tell, to see how the news will affect their lives, and to craft a greeting that shares our joy in a way that they might hear it with joy and not anger or pain. For those who are friends, whether non-Christians or Christians, what we say depends on what we know about them, and whether they can share in our joy or whether it will be a testimony that disrespects their own witness to joy from their own traditions, which we need to be open to receiving just as well: for all good gifts come from one God, who will be One even if we want to divide God into ours and theirs.
So, please wish me a Merry Christmas, or share your testimony on Eid ul-Fitr or Passover. And I will also be happy to speak of the hope that is within me.
[1] Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy 120 (1997
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