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 The Christmas sermons of Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishopof Canterbury Rowan Williams
byFrank KaufmannNew York, 12/26/10
 The secret to what makes things go well is intuited better by Jewsthan byChristians. Tragically Christianity, in its earliest phases,broke away from Judaism  causing Christianity to spin off notanchored to its own historical and spiritualroots, nor to the cultural wisdom andmindset of the very person Christiansfollow.In order to make things fit (especially thetragic,untimely execution of Jesus)Christianity veered toward other-worldliness, and paradoxically wove intoits narrative anti-Jewish impulses. These two shortcomings in thismagnificent and helpful world religion issad in dozens of ways (the tragic history of Christian persecution of Jewsbeing a bigone), but three main problems areespecially important to note.By way of disclosure, this is not an anti-Christian article. This writer thinks theworld of Christianity, and considers our current instability and precariouspossibility of decline of US, Europe, and the West, to be the result of the declininginfluence and presence of Christianity in day to day life. The decline of sufficientand genuine integration of Christianity in daily life and in the lives of leaders,evolved due to Christianity's inability to retain viable relevance in the world whenchallenged by the great materialist movements of the 19th Century (Darwin,Freud, andMarx). But just because a thought system or a community loses or fails to attain relevance or influence it does not mean that its tenets are not true.I know plenty of truths that have virtually no influence, and that are ignored bymassive numbers of people. The three core tragedies associated with Christianity's early break from Judaismare: 1. Christianity's resultant other-worldliness, 2. Christianity's difficulty toaccess the person they follow and worship, and get a clearer sense andunderstanding of what this particular Israeli was trying to explain anddemonstrate, and 3. The mismatch to have a religion with such influence in worldaffairs itself be so deeply other-worldly in its core worldview. It is a crying shame
 
that Christianity lost its connection to its own roots, and the
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wisdom forlife in the world so urgently needed in our current time of instability. This disconnect, and this "half-ness" was strongly evident in theChristmas sermons of two of the most powerful religious leaders in the world today, theArchbishop of Canterbury,Rowan Williams, head of the Church of England, andPope Benedict XVI, head of the Roman Catholic Church.Christmas is the most important calendar day for Christians. These sermons givenon this day represent (at least
should 
, and probably do) serious soul-searching,and preparation by these leaders to settle upon a message to the world designedto be as helpful and as momentous as possible.Pope Benedict called for peace in the Holy Land, urgingIsraelis and Palestinians to improve their relations (apleasant enough sentiment, no doubt). And just how doesHis Holiness advise Israeli's and Palestinians to go about thisgreater cooperation? Of course, by the light of Christmas!"May the light of Christmas shine forth anew in the Landwhere Jesus was born, and inspire Israelis and Palestiniansto strive for a just and peaceful coexistence,"he said.Additionally His Holiness used the occasion of Christmas tointensify his spat with China over who's in charge here.Archbishop Rowan Williams had a different emphasis inhis Christmas sermon. He focused largely on the globaleconomic malaise created by the laws of universesnapping back at rampant greed. "There is a "lastingsense" that the most prosperous in society have yet toshoulder their load in the economic downturn,"thearchbishop of Canterbury said yesterday. "Thatconfidence isn't in huge supply at the moment, giventhe massive crises of trust that have shaken us all in thelast couple of years and the lasting sense that the mostprosperous have yet to shoulder their load."Additionally Archbishop used the occasion of theforthcoming royal wedding between Prince William andKate Middleton to state that the Christian bond of marriage is a symbol of hope forhumanity.Surely these messages are good enough. They're good enough for me; war isbad, people should get along, communities of faithful under duress needencouragement and fortitude, people better off should invest in uplifting those of lesser means, and spiritually rooted family is vital. We are grateful for leaderssuch as Williams and Benedict willing to bear heavy burdens of responsibility.
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