So, what would it look like to keep the joy of Christmas through the winter months (up until Lent)? Well, one thing it would NOT look like is the Christmas season. Sure, all the parties and presents and hectic schedules and commitments of Christmas can be fun, but they are also very stressful. This brings me to the first thing that should happen during this season: We should REST! Rest our bodies, minds, souls – whatever. The Earth itself rests during the winter months, so why shouldn’t we? True, in this day and age, that’s all but impossible – we have jobs and commitments, and sometimes life just happens. I’m not saying quit your job or back out on a commitment . I am saying that perhaps taking a few days off if you can in late January / early February might not be a bad idea. Again, don’t do anything too stressful – just take off to the beach for a day or so, or maybe just stay at home and do the things you love to do. Whatever you do, it is essential to rest.

Resting is good for the soul, and its easy to be joyous when we’re well rested. But simply resting is not enough. We should also keep a positive attitude. True, we should always keep a positive attitude no matter what time of year it happens to be, but especially when we’re trying to keep a joyous mindset. Keeping a positive attitude includes avoiding those things which tend to get us in a negative mindset – everything from politics to music to movies to the news to relationships. Don’t get me wrong here; don’t close the door on your best friend if they’re having a hard time, and please keep in touch with what’s happening in the world and how you can help! Like I said, sometimes life happens – people loose jobs, get in accidents, earthquakes devastate countries. But don’t be overwhelmed by these things – don’t focus on all the bad that is happening around you and in the world. Rather focus on what you can do to help, whether its taking your friend out for a nice dinner and talking, or sending donations to those that are in need. There’s a lot of darkness in the world – but Jesus came to cast a light on the darkness, not to emphasize the darkness. Besides, what better way to keep a joyous demeanor, than to spread joy to others?

So what should worship look like in this time of keeping  a joyous attitude? I am not a very traditional person when it comes to traditions in faith- I pretty much believe in following what the spirit tells one to do, not just what tradition tells us. So perhaps I am not the best person to lay out a traditions for others to follow. Having said that, perhaps it would be in order to keep some (not all) Christmas Carols in rotation until the start of Lent. Songs such as “Joy to the world” or “O come let us adore him” have always given me a sense of such joy to sing, and its almost a shame to box them up for 9 months out of the year anyways. Like I mentioned earlier, this season of rest and joy should NOT be a repeat of Christmas, so there will be of course be Christmas songs totally inappropriate to this season. Don’t sing Rudolph or Frosty! Please! And again, we should have a positive focus during this time, so if a particular Christmas hymn brings about the feeling of dread and stress that often times accompanies Christmas, then do not sing that hymn.

Lent is never an easy season to face, for Lent is the time when one really observes how much they need to change. And Lent will be here soon. From the time of this writing, Lent will be here in less than a month. So what better time than now to rest and be joyful? What better time to refuse to give into the dreariness life brings? On the Roman Catholic calendar, we’re in one of two seasons called “Ordinary time.” Basically, this is the time of the year we go about our lives and what not. But to observe this as a season of rest and joy, maybe we can transform this from an ordinary season, to an extraordinary season.

Let me elaborate a little further. It is tough being single. Like many other single Christians my age, I’ve loved and lost a few times, and that’s a few times too many. I’ve felt lonliness like no man should ever feel, and I’ve cried myself to sleep more than once because of said lonliness. There’s no guaranetee that I will ever find the right woman. There’s no guarantee that I’ll become a father. I may very well die alone. With no wife, no kids, and maybe no one at my funeral. Well, misery loves company, but even more so – what better people to hang out with, than those who deal with the same, for lack of a better word, issues. And I say for lack of a better word because some people don’t really see being single as being an issue, problem, or any other type of negativity. Some people see singlehood as just the life they lead. I’m not sure if I’m one of those people, but I certiainly would rather be single than married to the wrong person. But I digress.

My point is this: Singles groups should never be about introducing the single men and women to eachother. Singles group should be about a community of people who have the same life circumstance – ie the fact that they are single. Singles groups should focus on the issues that come with a single’s life, like Men’s groups or woman’s groups or family groups or any other groups. Singlehood is NOT a disease, its just the way some of us happen to be. And while some of us may eventually find ourselves in a different circumstance, some of us will indeed be single for the rest of our lives. Knock on wood that I’m in the former group and not the latter, but if I am in the latter group, I want to be surrounded by the people who can offer me the support and help I need, just as I give them the support and help they need.

Maybe its just a matter of semantics, but maybe not. Consider the following: Mercy implies lenience and compassion. Justice, however, implies retribution not based on compassion, but rather based on what is fair – what is just.  Mercy is not fair – in fact, mercy is often times the exact opposite of fair.  Justice never gives what one does not deserve, and always gives what one does deserve.  Mercy will give one what they don’t deserve (perhaps food that they did not grow), and will withhold things that they do deserve (perhaps a severe and harsh punishment).

Now, some might say that if we’re giving food to those who do not deserve it, and withholding punishment from those who deserve punishment, then we are not in the right. While I believe that one who refuses to work should probably not eat, there is also the fact that some people cannot work. Some people cannot contribute to society. Justice would say that it is not fair to the rest of society that these people should eat of the labors of others. But might I remind you: An empty sack cannot stand. Truth be told, we might feed these people all their lives – they may never be able to “stand.” However, the position of mercy is not to say “we’ve fed these people enough.” The position of mercy is to hope they might be able to stand eventually, but also to understand some people will never be able to fulfill their own needs.

Ultimately, justice is about the law. Mercy is about love.  Both Jesus and Paul repeatedly stated that our actions should always be about love.  Justice, while a good thing in many cases, falls short of love in many other cases. And while most people who are concerned with social justice are doing so out of love, it is still a slippery slope. Where is the line between love and a quest to fight for our rights (as well as the rights of others)? If anything, perhaps using the term “Social Mercy” is about reminding ourselves that we are driven by the compassion of Christ; we are driven by the Love of God.