Editorial December 10, 2018 Issue

More meaning for Christmas

Allison W. Phinney

A few years into the 20th century an article of Mary Baker Eddy’s titled “Christmas as in Christian Science” was published in the New York World, a daily newspaper with a readership of over 300,000.

The article still makes for inspiring reading in the 21st century. And that’s not just because it gives us pause in regard to the frivolity and materialism of today that passes for “having Christmas.” Even more importantly, the article brings a dimension to Christmas at the very moment in human history when many are seeking the rediscovery of spiritual foundations, and the world greatly needs to understand Jesus’ example as mapping the way into the future more than a high point of the past.

So, what if Christmas really were about more than a sharing of purchased gifts, a day or so of family happiness, some cards and carols, and then a plunge back into the world with its deathly struggles and ills and terrible news? What if it were about more, even, than a baby who grew up to be the New Testament’s incredibly loving and forgiving Jesus, the man the Bible describes as a healer of the sick and Savior from sin?

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