I am writing this column in the final days of Advent, which in my faith tradition, is a time of penance and preparation for the joyous celebration of Jesus' coming into the world, or Christmas.
As a Catholic, I always enjoy the scriptural readings of Advent as they seem to emphasize the historical reality of Jesus, as well as tell a little about his family life. The famous Christmas story comes about because of a bureaucratic requirement: a census ordered by the Roman government in power in the region. Jesus' parents had to travel to their hometown to register, which is how they found themselves in an overcrowded Bethlehem with no spare rooms.
We also hear during Advent from Jesus' mother Mary, and his aunt, Elizabeth, the mother of his first cousin, John the Baptist. Mary and Elizabeth are both pregnant, and both miraculously so. Elizabeth is thought to be past the age of childbearing; and Mary, a virgin, has been visited by an angel who announces to her the news that she is to bear the Son of God.
Mary's reaction to the angel's news, known as the Fiat, is one of the simplest and most powerful prayers that exists: "I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word." You don't have to believe in Christ or Mary or even God to acknowledge the power of this statement. To do this in your heart is to surrender to the force of creation and to let go of personal desires and agendas. This is one of the hardest precepts for me personally, emotionally and intellectually to align with despite its inherent beauty. I can talk the talk but this walk is almost physically painful for me to walk.
We also get a picture of Jesus' cousin John the Baptist in the Advent season. I like to think sometimes of Jesus and John not as a Savior and a saint with all the myth and divinity and awe that go with those labels but as two blue-collar cousins who overnight became powerful influencers with incredibly simple messaging.
I feel like John was sort of an awkward prophet. He just wanted to get his message out, baptize folks and make a path for his much more significant cousin. The people would not let him alone and kept asking him what they were supposed to do. Finally, he tells them: "clothe the naked, feed the hungry and don't be too greedy."
I think this might have been a little of a letdown for the crowd, like Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone's vault on live television and revealing an empty chamber.
But the cousins pretty much stayed on message and created a movement that changed Western civilization forever. After John set the stage for Jesus' public ministry, Jesus offered numerous elaborations on this theme of simplicity but summed up his teachings with the Great Commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
(Unpopular opinion: to my mind, Paul of Tarsus, while quite an organizer of the early church, really mired down these simple truths in heavy and ponderous rhetoric.)
I recognize that there are many faiths and beliefs in our world today. I do not profess to force mine on anyone. I find the simplicity of Advent soothing in a very cluttered information environment.
I like time to time, to think of the influencer cousins, Jesus and John, and what they would do in today's digital world. Can you imagine the loaves and fishes thing on Instagram? How the megachurches or the "theology of success" (see: Joel Osteen) would react to turning the moneychangers out of the temple? What "turning the other cheek" would mean to a Russian troll farm?
To use a popular phrase, I think they would be disrupters.
Thank you, dear readers, and have a restful, peaceful, and joyous Christmas and holiday season and a prosperous and healthy New Year.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at
