Theologian: Mark season by living as Jesus did

The War on Christmas. Conjures up visions of Santa rolling down the street in an Abrams tank, doesn’t it? Rudolph in night vision goggles, his shiny nose retrofitted to a Red Dot Riflescope. Drones. Cyber attacks. Special Ops.

No need to make a mad dash to your fallout shelter. This is a culture war, waged by those to whom it matters how and where and why others celebrate the final few weeks of the calendar year. You know, the folks who make a living turning Starbucks holiday cups into a bombastic morality play?

Good news! The war has taken a turn for the sensible. Father Kevin O’Brien, dean of the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University, recently stood before the cameras

of mic.com for a 152-second video in which he made a convincing argument for simple decency.

“I don’t think Jesus would care much about whether we say Merry Christmas,” he began. “I don’t like the concept of a war on Christmas. This debate over whether we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, whether we have a Christmas party, or a holiday party, that debate sometimes can be a distraction.”

Are you with him so far?

“More important than just saying Merry Christmas is to live it,” O’Brien said. “That is, to live as Jesus did, to live a life of simplicity, a life of generosity, a life of service, a life of welcome and hospitality to others. And that’s the conversation we should be having.”

Interfaith angle

O’Brien, speaking by phone Thursday, said he was invited to make the video by a former student of his, currently a producer at mic.com. In it he speaks quietly and sincerely. Clips and images are interspersed throughout. It really is nicely composed.

“The producer wanted to stress the interfaith angle,” he said, “about how this debate is not about Christianity, but for all faiths. I think that’s why it resonated so widely.”

And when he says “resonated so widely” he means:

“It hit 10 million views,” O’Brien said. “It’s the most watched video ever on mic.com. Why? Because frankly, it’s true. We’re tired of war.”

O’Brien asked that any image inserted into the video not be partisan. Spoiler alert: Former Fox talking head Bill O’Reilly shows up for about a second and a half. But that image is immediately balanced by a clip from MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.

“I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people, from all over country and the world,” O’Brien said. “They expressed they were happy to hear a reasonable response. I heard from Muslims and Catholics. They’re tired of the division in society or in their church or their mosque. They want more peace and understanding.

“Some people were very upset about it, angry with my message. When you put yourself out there, you’re going to get a reaction.”

Let’s go back to the video.

“We have to be careful about the language we use in a pluralistic society like ourselves,” O’Brien says, “because in it, we encounter people of different faith traditions. Pope Francis will often speak about a culture of encounter, not confrontation. And this means listening to people and respecting people who are different than us.”

Channels Linus

For those of us who consider “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to be a cultural touchstone (please don’t judge), O’Brien channels Linus, walking to the middle of the stage and cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

“I learned something very important,” O’Brien said. “The message I shared on the video, to me, seems very basic. Given what we have faced in the country the past year, the divisions and arguments, I underestimated the need of people to hear that message. It’s very simple — let’s live our faith, let’s respect each other, talk to each other and not confront each other.”