THE REBEL JESUS

By Debbie Bulloch

Tomorrow is Christmas Day.

For many, Christmas is a time for joyous family gatherings, meeting up with old friends and watching little children laugh as they eagerly anticipate receiving gifts from Santa Claus. For many others, however, Christmas has a more ominous meaning: for the sick, for the homeless, for the poor, for those without family or friends and for the children for whom Santa Claus is just an image on a store window, Christmas can be a lonely time.

If you are celebrating this Christmas with dear friends and family members, hug each and every one of them and tell them how much you love them and how much you treasure their presence in your life. Friendship is a special gift for which we ought to be thankful. Especially in these troubled and uncertain times, friends and family are worth more than all the gold, myrrh and frankincense in the world.

If you are not celebrating Christmas with friends and family, please do not despair. No person is ever completely alone. Look around and soon you will realize that even in the loneliest of times there is a presence there, right next to you. As humans, we all belong to a higher spirituality that links each and every human to all the other humans who now walk, or have ever walked or will ever walk, upon the planet. Whether we live in a fancy castle, or sleep on the sidewalks of a crowded city, we are all children of the Universe; no less than the trees and the stars. We all have have a right to be here, that is part of our humanity. No one can take our humanity away from us - it is our birthright.

Regardless of your situation, be at peace with God, however you conceive Her to be. Whatever your labors and aspirations are in the noisy confusion of the Holiday Season, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Please be cheerful - and alway strive to be happy.

Jackson Browne, one of my favorite singers, wrote a song titled The Rebel Jesus. This time of the year Browne’s lyrics have special meaning. Please allow me share those words with you:

THE REBEL JESUS

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
They'll be gathering around the hearths and tales
Giving thanks for all god's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by the prince of peace
And they call him by the savior
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
As they fill his churches with their pride and gold
And their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But please forgive me if I seem
To take the tone of judgment
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus.


A Merry California Christmas to one and all!