Remember the true teachings of Jesus: peace, love

So this is Christmas?

I have been contemplating for weeks what to write today, knowing that this column falls on the weekend before Christmas and that everyone wants to be focused on their families and all that is merry and bright.

And yet, I feel called to speak of another reality. I feel called to speak of the fact that many people are not feeling all that fantastic this year (or maybe any Christmas, really); that many may be pretending to feel something they may not really be experiencing. On top of that, today I read about a group of people who beat up another group of people who were celebrating Hanukkah. And some kid decided he hated Christians and shot a bunch of people in churches. And the suicide rate in Colorado, and in Greeley, is climbing in record numbers. And some fundamentalist Christians are raising a ruckus over stores who actually try to respect all beliefs, all the while claiming they are "Putting Christ back in to Christmas."

On a larger scale, let's face it: Jesus the Christ was about peace; he was love in action in the world. He wasn't really looking to create any holidays in honor of himself. I'm pretty convinced he'd be horrified by what this has turned into: The idea that participating in this rampant consumerism is OK as long as the word Christmas is on the store's advertising flyer. While we're at it, we'll add to the strife in the world by getting angry at stores or individuals who don't pander solely to our particular belief system by saying "Merry Christmas" to every shopper. (Never mind that other shoppers may not celebrate Christmas at all.) And so we feed an energy that makes a bunch of people think it is their duty to beat on people with another set of beliefs.

Hello! People! Jesus was Jewish! The foundations of today's Christianity were created hundreds of years after his death.

If you want to put the Christ back in Christmas, then do some "right things." Like taking your neighbor some cookies. Like paying attention to the cleaning person at work. Like saying hello to the person in line next to you or the cashier and asking and caring how their day is going. The Jesus I know wasn't focused on what divides people; he did not condemn those that did not believe as he did. He didn't condemn those whose lives he didn't understand. He loved and he healed and he taught compassion and forgiveness. He said "love thy neighbor." He did not say love your neighbor just as long as they believe and think like you. He said love your neighbor. Period.

If you are feeling somehow alone or disconnected, please reach out. Find a spiritual community that honors you just as you are. There are many spiritual communities that focus on love and acceptance. Give yourself that gift.

And if you do feel cheery, reach outside your own home and your comfort zone and touch someone's life. It is as simple as listening: asking a real question and then truly listening to the answer. It can be the simplest of connections that turns another person's day around.

So what is the real message of Christmas? To me it is that we are ALL, all of us, no exceptions, in this together. That we are all children of the same God, no matter how we look at God or what our path to God is. To remember that we are here to be the face of God on Earth. That on any given day, it might be your act of love that changes another person's life.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to ALL. Isn't that what it is really all about?

Happy Holidays!

Barbara Bue, interim spiritual leader of Creative Living Church of Greeley, is a member of United Centers for Spiritual Living.