Luke 2:1-7; John 3:16
In some ways, love has taken a beating this year. For one thing, 2020 has been very hard on relationships. A WGN poll in Chicago found that 39% of couples reported having strain in their relationships; that number is going up by 2%-3% a week. It would seem that being together 24/7 is not necessarily a benefit for couples. If there are any issues or problems in the relationship, all that time with each other can exacerbate those issues. Lawyers are expecting to see a significant rise in divorce cases when the pandemic is over.
For another thing, 2020 has been hard for singles who want to find partners. While dating app usage has gone up, singles still say that it is very hard to meet someone under the conditions of social distancing or quarantine. According to that same WGN poll in Chicago, some 47% of singles broke isolation to get out and meet someone, either a date arranged on social media or just hang out at a local pub or bar.
And social isolation has also meant increased danger for victims of domestic violence. Reports of domestic violence have risen across the country by as much as 35% in some areas. Abusers typically try to isolate victims from friends and family, and now that same behavior can be explained as trying to keep their partner safe. And added pressures due to lost jobs or reduced incomes, as well as fears about COVID-19, provoke more violent behavior on the part of the abuser.
In general, it seems to me that people are more on edge, more stressed out, more angry and irritable. I have noticed a lot of what I consider road rage: people tailgating or honking their horns for no apparent reason. I have heard people being nasty to grocery store clerks or restaurant workers. It would seem that 2020 has brought out the worst in some people. Bah, humbug!
Where is the love? When you look around, where do you see love?
Well, perhaps it is in the form of a six-year-old girl named Naomi Williams. Naomi used to be a regular visitor at a nursing home, playing bingo and visiting with the residents. But COVID-19 restrictions put a stop to her visits. Naomi said, “My mommy said we couldn’t visit because a lot of people were getting sick and we have to keep them safe. So, I wanted to color them some pictures to make them happy.” Naomi has been coloring yard signs to put outside the residents’ windows. The nursing home director said, “The residents love the signs. It means a lot to them to know they are loved.” And Naomi added, “We have to let the grannies and grandpas know we love them. I don’t want them to feel sad and alone. I want them to be happy.”
Maybe, just maybe, that’s the kind of love that Christmas is all about. God saying, “I don’t want them to feel sad and alone.” And so God sent Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. And it was out of his love that God did this. As we all remember from memorizing the verse in Sunday School, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Love came down at Christmas in that little baby born in Bethlehem. And love was surely needed in those days. The Jews had been living under the thumb of the mighty Roman Empire for a long time. The vast majority of the people were poor, living hand to mouth, on the edge of becoming destitute. The only rich people were those who collaborated with the Romans, including some of the priests and members of the Sanhedrin. There were those who hoped and even planned for rebellion, but Rome quickly squashed any uprising and killed those responsible for it.
The people were looking for a Savior. They wanted God to send the Messiah to lead a revolt against Rome, win freedom for Israel, and establish his kingdom on earth. They hoped and they prayed and they waited and they watched. The prophets had stopped speaking some 500 years earlier, and there had been no word from the Lord. It was beginning to seem to some people as though God had forgotten them.
But finally, God acted. He sent the Messiah. But not the Messiah that the people were looking for. He was not born in a palace to a royal family, but in a stable to a peasant couple. He did not appear on the scene as a great warrior, but as a little child. He was small and weak and vulnerable. He was totally dependent on his parents to keep him alive and safe. Jesus was human; he was one of us.
What better way to communicate love than through a baby? Babies are, usually, the result of love. And most people love to see babies, to hold them, to coo at them and talk baby talk to them, to tickle them and count their fingers and toes. People smile and laugh and relax when they are around babies. They, too, become vulnerable, because they let their guard down around babies.
God sent Jesus because he loves us so much. God did not want to see people continue to miss the point in their religious lives, as so many of the so-called righteous ones in Jesus’ day had done. They were more concerned with the letter of the law and the ritual than they were about the condition of their hearts. They were quite willing to serve in the Temple, where they were seen by others and admired for their holiness, but not so willing to serve the poor, the sick, or the stranger. God wanted people to feel his love and to love him back. God wanted them to understand that faith was about how we live every day, how we treat each other, and how we worship in our hearts. And so God sent Jesus to show us what he is like and to show us how we are supposed to live.
Throughout his life, Jesus showed love to everyone he met. He welcomed every one who came to him. He did not discriminate between rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, or men and women. He did not have a long list of requirements in order to follow him; just to love God and love each other. Jesus showed concern for the sick and offered them healing. He cared about those who grieved and wept with them. He played with children and enjoyed dinner parties with adults. He spoke the truth, even when it was risky and unpleasant, but he also offered grace and mercy and forgiveness to everyone. Even when he was dying on the cross, Jesus forgave those who put him there.
For those of us who follow Jesus, who have experienced the love of God through him, we are called to demonstrate that love to others, even during a pandemic. How do we do that? What can love do during COVID-19?
Well, just like Naomi Williams, we can bring joy to the elderly. We can write letters or send cards to residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities. We can call homebound people to check on them. We can offer to pick up groceries for elderly neighbors. It only takes a little effort to make someone’s day a little brighter.
We can also bring comfort to the kids. Children are overwhelmed and scared by all the frightening events of this year. Their parents are probably tired and stressed out by having them home all the time. So record yourself reading a book and send it to them. Or drop off a box of goodies for a neighbor’s children. Hang hearts or teddy bears in the windows to cheer up kids who are out playing in the yard.
We can show our love by supporting local businesses. We can buy gift cards to use later if we don’t feel safe shopping in person. Some stores let you order online and deliver the items to you at home or curbside. We can also support local restaurants by ordering take-out if we don’t want to go and dine in. Pennie and I love to order pizza from Pizza Chef and Chinese from the place in New London near Hannaford.
We can also help local charities. You are always generous to support the local food banks, and this year they need us even more than ever. There are more people out of work or suffering financially, and the demand for food has grown significantly. We can also give to local crisis groups.
We can reach out to people who are more likely to be lonely: singles, home-bound folks and widows or widowers. Give them a call. Send an email. Or write a card. Let them know that they are not forgotten, but that somebody remembers them and cares about them.
We can show our love by reaching out to frontline workers. If you know a doctor or nurse, EMT, or first responder, thank them for all that they are doing to keep us safe. Send a tray of cookies or a tray of sandwiches. It doesn’t have to be anything big or fancy to let them know that they are appreciated.
And finally, we can show our love by protecting others. For starters, we should all wear a mask. It is a fact that they save lives. The face mask is less about protecting yourself and more about protecting others in case you have the virus. What a simple act of kindness to just wear that cloth over your nose and mouth when you go out. It won’t kill you; but going without it just might kill someone else.
Where is the love? It is the in the manger and it is beside the Sea of Galilee and it is on the cross. It is in the heart of a six-year-old girl making posters for her elderly friends. It is in all the acts of kindness that we do to show we care about others. And it is in feeling the love of God in our hearts at Christmas and every day. We love others because God first loved us. That is the heart of the Christmas story.
