'Merry Christmas' — and don't be offended that I said so

There is a growing movement to obliterate Christmas greetings.

No, there is not a group, “donotsayChristmas.org." Heaven forbid closing down the malls.

Nonetheless, we are eliminating Christmas from our personal lexicons. We just don’t say it anymore. It is like we are denying our faith.

In our social encounters there is an increasing likelihood that we will say, “Happy Holidays” or we skip to “Seasons Greetings” like anyone really likes the cold and inversions. Often we forget it all together.

Unfortunately, this avoidance of the word "Christmas" further commercializes the holiday. We might as well greet others with “Merry Sales” or “Happy Bargains.”

Others have noted this verbal migration away from Christmas. Some blame this linguistic transformation as an infatuation with political correctness. The decline in the usage of the word "Christmas" is a false attempt to not offend. One can see why that is. If we were wishing someone “Merry Christianity,” he or she could be insulted if they were to focus on various parts of history. While the message of faith, hope and charity, and brotherly love are eternal, it is the lack of execution of these words over the centuries that could be upsetting.

There is also perhaps some embarrassment by Christians of their religion. It is understandable. Gandhi said, “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

We didn’t get it right by killing the prophets or abandoning the truth; we blew it when we garroted and burnt the devoted who spread holy writ to the masses in their own language. We missed with Catholic and Protestant conflagrations; we failed with our embrace of slavery, apartheid and Jim Crow; we were wrong when priests or anyone abused children and then hid; we need to repent about neglect and inhumanity to man. Forgive us for our lame excuses for torture or offensive violence. We still don’t get it about accumulation of wealth, power and self-gain.

Perhaps that is the exact reason why we should shout out “Merry Christmas," because it is a reminder to Christians to start all over. Repent of our apostasy from “love thy neighbor." Push a reset button, and say we are going to get it right this time.