UPDATE CHRISTMAS

Christmas is about Jesus and family for Christians. Our story is that Mary, a young Jewish woman was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter, a union man. She became pregnant before they could marry. Joseph had his doubts. A poet puts it this way.

Mary may be pure

But, Joseph, are you sure?

How is one to tell?

Suppose for instance…Well…

He married her anyway. While travelling they find shelter in the back of a garage. Auto workers come by to say congratulations. A couple of swells swing by and give the newborn and the parents some presents. They 

treat him like a king.

A homeless family finds shelter, has a baby with suspicious origins. The get good wishes and handouts. Folks help out.

The story could happen to a lot of people today. The Christmas story lives because people came to believe that the baby Jesus grew up to be a man. For three years when he was in his thirties, he preached against injustices inflicted on the Jews by the Roman government and religious leaders of his time. He called for feeding the hungry and healing the sick. He ended up dead at the hands of the people he criticized. The story goes that he beat death and survived.

We are still trying to figure out who this man was. His followers called him a messiah, a son of God and even later said that Jesus and God were one flesh. The discussion about who Jesus was goes on to this day.

Christmas starts the story and the discussion of the nature of God, Jesus, the mystery of sacred and secular will never end. The followers of Jesus range from hermit monks and nuns to social activists. Some wear Jesus like a bandage of righteousness and others work for caring for humanity.

WHIMS OR TAXES

We must thank Sean Parker for his foundation to find a cure for allergy sufferers. (SF Chronicle 12/17/14) Billionaires like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Marc Benioff and many more give billions of dollars to causes which affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. They are able to find needs to fill where governments cannot.

However, I find I agree with a statement by the late Prime Minister of England, “Charity is a loveless thing. If rich people want to help the poor, they should pay their taxes gladly, not dole out money at a whim.”

Billionaires’ charities do not pay for road improvement, for assuring health care for all, raising teachers’ salaries, providing race training classes for police officers, creating rehabilitation for imprisoned men and women, protecting our borders, providing for more police, Sheriffs and Highway Patrols, opening more facilities for the mentally and emotionally ill. Only governments can finance those things. Our tax averse citizens need to change into generous taxpayers.

TEA PARTY

Dear Anne Lamott has trouble forgiving the Tea Party. I don’t hate them, I feel sad and angry when I read about their values. Their lack of compassion for the sick, hungry, those in prison and immigrants is sickening. Their failure to understand that only big government bring health and healing to all people in our country. The medical profession, as we know it, has failed to provide health care for all, but only those who can pay. Only big government can assure that all Americans have food enough, decent housing and education enough. 

Capitalism has failed to take care of those at the bottom of the economic heap. Capitalism because of greed and excess profit making contributes to the poverty in our country and around the world. I don’t need to forgive them. I just have to keep voting against and criticizing their wretched values. Many TP members call them selves followers of Jesus He criticized secular and religious power because they failed to provide for the sick, the hungry, those who were in prison, the  widows and orphans  and failed to welcome the strangers. That is the Jesus I follow.