Christmas in the time of Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO – So here we all are from many parts of the world gathered in this nippy city by the bay preparing to celebrate Christmas. Then it happened. Silence. There we were sitting around busy with our iPhones and iPads updating Facebook or Twitter or as in the case of my eight-year old grandson, with some game he found on the net.

Welcome to Christmas in the time of Facebook… and Twitter. This part of America is supposed to be ground zero for the social media revolution. And indeed, can see it everywhere you go.

No coffee shop owner who wants to make a sale will go without free WiFi. Passengers in the Muni use the commute time to update their Facebook status or drop a line on Twitter. There are even those with hidden earplugs loudly talking on their cell phones unmindful of others as if they are talking to themselves.

Everyone is communicating to everybody… and ironically enough, often to nobody in particular. Technology has made it possible to share our thoughts with millions in a single tweet… yet keep a distance to those closest to us. We share pictures of the gourmet dish we just had… but haven’t thought of sharing a piece of bread with some poor kid who looked like he had missed a meal.

Communicating is also what Christmas is all about. Being born as a flesh and blood human being was God’s last ditch plan to communicate His love for us. Communicating with stubborn people is tough, even for God. But God never got tired reaching out. How best to reach out than by being right here, being born on Christmas Day to personally deliver the message of salvation in person.

If Facebook and Twitter were available in that cold wintry night in a Middle Eastern desert, it is doubtful if God or the angels could have used social media to successfully deliver the Good News. It was not a message people wanted to hear. Folks back then ignored the prophets sent by God to deliver His message. But God persists in trying to get man’s attention and his heart.

The Old Testament is full of stories of how God’s people betrayed Him but God kept on trying to get them to see the light.  God used the prophet Hosea to tell Israel that by going after false gods they have been like an unfaithful wife committing adultery. “Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods…”

The prophet Elijah complained to the Lord: “the Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The Letter to the Hebrews says: “At various moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son.” (Heb 1:1-2)

At last He used the ultimate plan. He sent His own Son to become man, to deliver His message. God needed to make a new covenant with man. By sending Jesus, His Son to become flesh and shed His blood on the Cross, God is using the ultimate communication plan to convince us we are His people and He loves us despite our sins.

And so the Word was made flesh and He lived among us. It happened that first Christmas Day.

Christmas is about listening to the Word of God… listening to each other. Listening is an important part of the communication process. But listening is also difficult in this age of Facebook and Twitter. Technology has become a big distraction and has made it easy to focus on ourselves.

Just look at some of the discussion threads on Facebook or Twitter. Everyone is busy expressing his or her opinion and most of the times, ignoring what everyone else is posting or tweeting. I see it in the discussion threads on my wall. I see a lot of one track minded ego maniacs who are so full of themselves they merely antagonize… fail to illuminate and they don’t care.

Social media has often been anything but social. Not too many are really listening… or even interested in what others are thinking… or allowing for differences in opinion. Folks want the world to know what they are thinking and it ends there.

Maybe this Christmas, we can start to turn things around by listening. Let’s start with God’s Christmas message… After all, if God took the trouble and the sacrifice to deliver his message of love by becoming flesh and blood that first Christmas, He deserves our full attention.

It is a good message the angels sung on that cold dark Christmas night two thousand years ago. Peace to men of goodwill… and tidings of comfort and joy. This is the sentiment of the season that brings us that distinct holiday feeling. Or should.

Often we hear the sound but we don’t listen. We are preoccupied with many other things and with ourselves. We fail to listen to God’s Good News of salvation or to our neighbor’s plea for understanding. As the prophet Isaiah puts it: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” It is a message of peace and understanding. And we somehow miss that message.

This is the news worth listening to.  And it is for everyone. The Christmas message is for the poor and the rich, the powerful and the common folks. The shepherds and the wise men equally paid homage to Jesus on that Christmas Day and they all received the message of salvation.

This Christmas, let us celebrate by reconnecting with God and with those who mean much to us. It is time to share experiences, to listen to each other’s hearts as we do on Facebook and Twitter, and thank God for all His gifts… but in person. It is time to reconnect with real… not virtual friends. It is time to listen to each other… and to God’s enduring message of love and redemption.

In this age of Facebook and Twitter, we need to take time and effort to really listen. And by listening, we are unlikely to miss the important message of Christmas… and repair our relationships with God and with our fellow men.

A Merry Christmas to all our readers and their loved ones.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco