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As we approach the end of 2020, our nation’s mental health is the worst it has been in decades. That’s not my opinion — it’s the findings of a recent report from Gallup, which has asked Americans about the state of their mental health since 2001.
This year, nearly one-fourth of Americans rated their mental health as "fair" or "poor," the most significant decline in our country’s psychological well being on record.
The sad truth is these findings won’t surprise anyone who has lived through 2020. A global pandemic, social unrest, an economic downturn, a polarizing election: you name it. This year has thrown us a litany of challenges that would burden anyone’s mental well being.
Even as we hear news that a vaccine for the coronavirus is now available — a veritable Christmas miracle! —it may take months before it reaches the average person.
Doctors have warned we still face a "very dark winter" ahead, leading one commentator to pronounce on national news, "Christmas is probably not going to be possible this year."
If you ask me, it seems all America wants for Christmas is some hope.
The good news is Christmas was meant to be celebrated exactly in the kind of hopeless moment we are living through.
I have found that the greatest moments of Christmas are not the ones we get psyched about. Rather, it’s those in-between moments when we are present with another.
You see, 2,000 years ago on the first Christmas things looked pretty bleak too. The Jewish people were under Roman occupation. This is not the way things were supposed to be: God had said they would live freely and prosper in the land he had promised to their forefathers.
Worst yet, they had not heard from God in a long time — not one solitary miracle, not one angelic appearance and no mighty prophet thundering the word from the Lord. Just an apparent icy silence from Heaven.
Then one night when no one was expecting it the heavens lit up as a host of angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
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We know how the rest of the story goes: God had come to his people in the form of a baby. Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, was born in the humble town of Bethlehem.
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In the middle of a dark chapter in the story of Israel, God was reminding his people that everything was right on schedule — his schedule.
The birth of Jesus was the advent of hope to a world that had been weary and burdened for a long time. As the classic Christmas hymn says:
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born.
The birth of Jesus still offers a thrill of hope to everyone seeking comfort from a weary world.
It is true, Christmas probably will look very different this year: no malls packed with shoppers, no big parties at work with the dreaded, obligatory white elephant gift exchange game and no crazy holiday traffic (thank you very much). Depending on where you live, even caroling may be discouraged.
But we shouldn’t miss the silver lining running through all of this: Covid-19 has reminded us what Christmas is really all about.
"‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)," says the Gospel of Matthew.
If you think about it, Christmas is about God undoing our loneliness. At a time when people feel so isolated and abandoned, the promise of God’s presence is indeed good news.
This is why over the years I have found that the greatest moments of Christmas are not the ones we get psyched about. Rather, it’s those in-between moments when we are present with another.
These moments are especially shared with family and not only our actual flesh-and-blood families but also the family of God. The Gallup poll I mentioned earlier found that the only group that didn’t report a negative change in their mental health were people who attended church regularly.
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So wherever you are this Christmas, know that Immanuel, God’s healing, loving and comforting presence, is available to you right now.
Hope has a name, and it’s Jesus Christ.
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