I think it was the martinis. A wintry cocktail hour, mystified by the St Olaf College choir singing Silent Night and one of my old favorites, Beautiful Savior. The combination brought tears to my eyes. When I was a kid, as I mentioned in my introduction to these reflections, I went to church every Sunday, and an integral part of that service every week was the first verse of that hymn, Beautiful Savior, so it’s pretty well established in my subconscious.

Perhaps it was the current state of our politics and economy in the US. It’s upsetting enough to see where our government is headed, but it’s more disturbing to understand the primary cause. A huge segment of our brothers and sisters have been left behind, to live in near poverty, with no resources, no job, no hope, and an earlier death.

But the emotions go way beyond childhood environment and the civil dis-ease currently in America. I really do like Jesus. Think about it. Here was a man who loved everyone. Who gave his life to fight an oppressive power and taxation system that tore the heart out of all who struggled to survive. Who reached out to those outcast by the proprieties of society. Who called for justice rather than religious ritual. Who was not afraid of the powered elite. Who taught the love that we all know in our hearts to be true. This man walked the earth. For all we know, the atoms that made him who he was could be recycled in our own flesh and bones.

I learned this week that the nickname for secular humanists is The Happy Human! These are people who seek justice and peace, wherever that path might lead. Who believe in the power of reason to solve problems. Who accept others’ perspective as contributing to the totality of the whole. Who care about the future of our planet and the equality of those who walk it. To the best of my knowledge, all of my family are secular humanists. Whether they like Jesus or not is immaterial. But from my perspective, I know that Jesus likes them.

There was a headline this week that could also bring tears, but for a different reason: “Pope says that priests can forgive abortion”. I admire Francis for trying to bring Christianity – both Catholic and Protestant – out of the dark ages. Here is what he’s fighting: a system that sets one person (or thing) up as the ultimate authority. Catholics have the pope, Protestants have the bible. A system that has intercessory priests who “forgive” people on behalf of the institution that holds the keys to heaven and hell. About an action concerning which they claim to know god’s will, and pronounce as sinful. Protestant evangelicals who divide the world into saved and not saved, and who pronounce god’s will on abortion and gays are no better. It does make me want to cry.

That could be why I find it difficult to go to church these days. I can’t accept the bible as god’s literal word, and it upsets me to ask god in prayer to do something particular when there’s so much pain in the world that god apparently does nothing about. But I do enjoy meeting up with people; that’s probably why I prefer coffee hour.

We all know that Jesus was not born on Dec 25, but it is a day when we celebrate his life, and that’s not a bad thing because it was a good life. Part of that celebration may include being with family and friends. It may include attending a candle lit gathering of fellow pilgrims. It may include a sense of awe on a star filled night. It might be reflecting in silence and solitude.

Whatever it might be, happy celebration.