Rev. Melinda Giese, Minister of Discipleship and Pastoral Care
One of my favorite holiday television shows is ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas.’ In this animated Christmas classic, Charlie Brown confesses to his friend, Linus, that even though Christmas is coming, he’s not happy. Even though he likes many of the Christmas traditions, he still feels depressed. In fact, he wonders if something is wrong with him because he feels this way. Linus doesn’t offer much in the way of empathy, asking how on earth Charlie Brown could take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem!
We realize that even though there is much to celebrate during the Christmas season, Charlie Brown is far from alone in his struggles with holiday depression. When the topic of the holidays comes up, many people admit that Advent can be a difficult season even in more normal years. When it seems like everyone around us is enjoying “the most wonderful time of the year,” broken family relationships, financial issues, and grief can feel even more painful. Expectations for the kind of perfection we see in Hallmark movies – perfect families, perfect houses, perfect holiday dinners, perfect gifts – can make our real-life Christmas experiences seem disappointing.
When Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for help with his holiday depression, she tells him that he needs “involvement” and suggests that he direct the Christmas play. Even though she only charges him five cents for her advice, Lucy gives him a good strategy. Social connections are critical to our mental health and well-being, as we all have noticed during the pandemic. We feel better together than we do on our own. Even small connections can be helpful such as making conversation with our clerk at the grocery store.
As we re-imagine what Christmas will be like this year, we encourage you to prioritize connections with others in ways that will boost your spirits. Is there a friend you haven’t seen that you can reach out to with a video call? Could you read a Christmas story to your grandchildren over zoom? Do you have some extra Christmas cookies that you could drop off on a neighbor’s porch? Even attending a zoom gathering where you can see people’s faces and their smiles can help lift your mood. If you’re interested in additional ideas, we invite you to watch this short video, “How to stay connected during the pandemic.”
When Charlie Brown asks if anyone can tell him what Christmas is all about, Linus famously responds by reciting the Christmas story from Luke 2:8-20. The story of the first Christmas year reminds us of God’s desire to be connected with us – to come in the flesh and share our human experience through Jesus. God had initiated connections already through Moses, through covenants and through the prophets. But in Jesus, God finally came to be with us fully and to know our struggles first-hand.
This holiday season, whether you are the one reaching out to another or receiving an invitation to connect, we hope that these connections will nourish your spirit as we wait for the coming of Christ once again.