Your correspondent had the good fortune to attend a Christmas eve service in the tiny Church of St. Mary and All Saints, in the village of Newton-by-Castle Acre, Norfolk, England. The structure has been in continuous use since the late 10th or early 11th century. There is nothing like an ancient church to remind us of the long arc of human civilization.
The most moving moment during the service came when the vicar entreated the congregation to join him in a simple prayer: that those who govern us may be granted “humility and wisdom.”
Back home my countrymen are struggling once again with the question of what qualities we seek in our leader. But the answer, I realized, is simple. Humility and wisdom. Everything else is secondary.
In 2016, 80% of self-identified evangelical and conservative Christians are reported to have voted for one of the least humble and least wise public figures of our era. Growing up I was taught that the spirit of Christmas eve is peace, and the spirit of Christmas is love. And what message did the champion of American Christians choose for Christmas eve: a rant claiming that Nancy Pelosi “hates the Republican Party . . . She hates all of the people who voted for me and the Republican Party . . ..” A message of hate for a day of love.
At Christmas everyone, regardless of religious tradition or belief, can celebrate the coming of a great light into the darkness. This is the light of the ethical teaching of Christ and many others: to love your neighbor as yourself. It is the light of charity, brotherhood, generosity, tolerance and forgiveness.
Although as an atheist I don’t direct my prayers to any particular entity, my Christmas prayer is that the spirit of Christmas drives hate and anger from the hearts of my countrymen, and that they heed the lesson learned over a thousand years by the tiny congregation of St. Mary and All Saints: when their rulers were humble and wise, the villagers gathered on Christmas eve in peace and prosperity; when the hearts of their leaders were filled with hate, greed, arrogance and anger, their Christmas eve prayers were for relief from the resulting war, tyranny, oppression and poverty.