Dear one,
Like a potpourri so my thoughts—although hopefully other than the original meaning of that word: “a rotten pot.”
At any rate, this morning I find Paul’s words wafting through my mind: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Roman 7:19). The immediate occasion for this reminder was a recent social encounter, during which I did not respond as I would want; rather, I stood as adamant, perhaps a living reproach, awkward and silent. Admittedly, this my faux pas was not an egregious failure—in the annals of human history, it will not warrant a footnote of a footnote of a footnote, etc.—but it was a pin-prick reminder that I don’t always do, in fact, I often do not do what I want or think I want.
The further context of this pin-prick are my recent reflections vis-a-vis eminent, Western leaders. Whether I think of our founding forebearers: Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson, and Washington, or their 20th century, English counterparts, the House of Winsor for instance, the view is much the same: in no way diminishing their great, good accomplishments, their lives reveal many faux pas or “false steps,” some of which caused untold grievous pain, others of which were self-destructive.
Our good intentions—irrespective their being grand and noble, or not—often follow a deep-rutted, well-trod path: they begin well but invariably end badly, spawning unforeseen consequences. I don’t mean to be defeatist or pessimistic, or simply melancholy, but our human story is replete with luxuriant gardens going to pot—and if this is touted as natural, something within us protests: “It’s not natural. It should not be this way …”
In these days, some remind us: “Jesus is the reason for the season,” which I do not doubt; and yet, this shorthand tends to mask the reason of His coming: a potpourri of faux pas. That is, our need for Someone from the outside to engender a good which will beget only good. Or, as our friend Scrooge eventually realized—but only because he was visited from the outside—Christmas is not intended to be seasonal:
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year,” he said. “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.”
As the Spirits came for Scrooge’s well-being and reclamation, so too Jesus came for ours.
Seeking to live Christmas,
Stan
A Faux Pas ...?