Goodwill hunting
Christmas is traditionally a time of “goodwill to all.” We’ve heard this phrase before, but it has become a bit of a cliché. In fact, rather than goodwill, you may find that the sudden lull of the holidays allows you time to reexamine old wounds and stoke the fires of indignation over them.
Christmas is traditionally a time of “goodwill to all.” We’ve heard this phrase before, but it has become a bit of a cliché. In fact, rather than goodwill, you may find that the sudden lull of the holidays allows you time to reexamine old wounds and stoke the fires of indignation over them.
What is goodwill, anyway?
And yet, goodwill is not meant to be a feeling of mild Dickensian benevolence toward others. It’s not actually based on feelings at all, but on love and justice. Love, because love of neighbor, according to Jesus, is one of the two greatest commandments. Justice, because every person, no matter who they are, has the dignity of being a beloved child of God.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote 86 sermons on the Song of Songs. Although the Song is one of the shortest books in the Bible, with only eight brief chapters, it was still too long for him to finish commenting on it. In his 40th sermon, he cautions us against judging others according to our own weights and measures, and warns of the dangers of setting hidden tests for our neighbors to fail. Here’s what he says:
“Even if you should see your neighbor doing what is wrong, refuse to pass judgment on him, excuse him instead. Excuse his intention, even if you cannot excuse the act, which may be the fruit of ignorance or surprise or chance. Even if you are so certain that to dissemble is impossible, you must still endeavor to convince yourself by saying, ‘It was an overwhelming temptation, what should become of me if it attacked me with the same force?’”
Practice makes perfect
When it comes down to it, goodwill is a decision we make to love our neighbor. That includes the apparent idiot who cuts us off in traffic, the person in the pew behind us who couldn’t find the right musical note with a Geiger counter, and the talkative neighbor who has become a remarkably effective antidote to insomnia.
God’s strategy seems to be that when we ask for a particular virtue, he gives us opportunities to exercise it. If we ask for patience, brotherly love, and goodwill, he is kind enough to oblige us with many occasions to put it into practice.
Spiritual power
So, this Christmas, let’s lean into the power of the Holy Spirit that we received in baptism to enable us to exhibit goodwill to one and all, because it is really that divine power that will be the deciding factor of our success or failure. And in the New Year, let’s keep the ball rolling and learn to love our neighbor, holiday or no holiday.
