Goodness Come to Earth

Many of you may have heard me rant about a regular column in the Post Gazette. That column, “Random Acts of Kindness” just drives me crazy. While there are other things about the Post Gazette that drive me to rant, this column does so because it seems to be reporting a reality. That is the problem I have with it. If you are not familiar with it, this section of the paper has people send in incidents of kindness that they have experienced. I suppose it is thought that by reporting them the newspaper will buoy up our spirits. Which brings me to my rant. Has kindness become so rare that we have to report on it? Does that mean the opposite – meanness – has become prevalent? (Or is the opposite of kindness selfishness?) Have we become a society where kindness is only a random event? Is life only good if you push and shove your way through it? If you read the rest of the newspaper on any day it may seem that way. While during this time of the year we see many acts of kindness we also experience arrogance and rudeness and certainly have experienced others who are only concerned about themselves and their own pleasure.

I am always amazed at the contrast between how we and our society treat the birth of our savior and the account of the actual event. While there are some things that may be similar. Mary and Joseph (especially Mary) had to be exhausted by their travel, confused, and lonely while looking for a place to rest. Those are emotions that many of us have felt during this season. No wonder kindness and goodness seems to disappear. In part, I can understand how that might happen to those who do not gather around the gifts at this table. Those who have not recognized God’s love when they have experienced it. Or have not experienced it (that would be our fault). But why do so many of us, the children of God, feel the same? Why are we exhausted, lonely, and confused about our friends, families, and lives?

Remember who we are in this story. We are not Joseph or Mary and certainly not the angels. We are the shepherds. That motley bunch of misfits and miscreants who were the first to hear of the birth of Jesus and the first to visit him. The angels did not announce it to men in power or to the government (think about what happened when that happened) but to outcasts; people who lived on the edges of society because they did not fit in with the status quo. This story about the shepherds is to remind us of our own position. While we do not live on the edge of society or are poor and disregarded by others we certainly do not look brilliant in the light of God. We certainly do dwell in darkness. On you the light has shined, for to you is born a savior who is the embodiment of God. You who do not deserve to even stand in its presence are called to share it with the world. Look not at yourself, instead, look toward Jesus to see the true act of kindness. A kindness that comes from God’s love. With Jesus as your guide and hope, be the kindness and love that the world so desperately desires. By your love and kindness share Jesus with the lonely all-too-busy world so that they may receive the comfort and joy that this Jesus brings.