A New Plague Journal: Christmas in a World Gone Mad

22 December 22, 2024 as I craft this. The sky at 4 pm (1600) here in Lisboa is powder blue and cloudless. A few minutes ago, I started reading an Irish novel and now I have to decide whether or not to buy it. None of my online libraries have it in their collections but Apple Books does. But the phrasing is so beautiful it is almost impossible not to punch that little button to buy. Here is the sentence that captured my attention. “The Irishmen look out blithely at the faces that pass by in a blur of the seven distractions-love, grief, pain, sentimentality, avarice, lust, want of death.” I mean golly gosh how do you reach the stage in life where you can construct that sentence?

Most years I would have put together a Christmas message touching on family achievements and joys shared with friends. Maybe it is the bug that I have been fighting for five days, but I'm not feeling it. As far as I can tell, things to be on an even keel. John Lee is working hard at his software engineering position and Loren is furthering his education. Having them both here in Lisboa for the whole of the Christmas holidays is a wonderful thing too. And Loren, God bless the boy, sang in a Christmas concert in the metro.

There were events with friends. We took a road trip with Fred and Anne to Evora and Monseraz and wandered among the megaliths. We visited a historical astronomy lab, the national archives and the money museum with our social group. Houseguests arrived and with Francie as expedition leader they toured sites near and far. For me wandering around the Foz in Porto on a sunny day was a brilliant moment. Francie organized a Thanksgiving feast for 18 people and with everyone’s help and contributions of time and food it came off wonderfully.

But not everything went as I hoped for this year. With that being the case, I think I should close with the words of the Christ we purportedly celebrate at this the turning of the seasons. The Christ who as a child was a refugee in Egypt offered these words to guide our behaviors. In the years ahead I hope we will cleave to them when pressures will be many to walk away or turn away our eyes from need and injustice. From Matthew 25:34-45.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

And if religion is not your thing maybe you will want to consider Kurt Vonnegut’s thoughts on what it means to be a humanist. “Some of you may know that I am neither Christian nor Jewish nor Buddhist, nor a conventionally religious person of any sort. I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishments after I’m dead.”

Red letter Christian or humanist the next four years will be challenging. Merry Christmas and Keep the Faith.