As of May 2010 there were over 16 million Canadian signed up for the online social network known as Facebook.  For those of you who may not be familiar with Facebook (and judging by the numbers that can’t be too many of you), it is something that computer internet users use to communicate and connect (and I use those terms lightly) with one another around the world.  Research firm Inside Network estimates that 47.9 per cent of all Canadians use Facebook - making it by percentage one of the most “plugged in” countries in the world.  

I’m not sure what that says about Canadians.  Does that make us one of the most social countries in the world or does it make us one of the least social countries in the world?  Facebook touts itself as being a great agent of personal connection.  If you’re a Facebook user you can send messages, post pictures and videos, write on people’s “walls” and “poke” one another.  And you can visit with all your Facebook “friends” by checking out one another’s pages and making comments.  It sounds like it should increase communication and connection but does it?  Studies have shown a growing trend where people count hundreds of Facebook friends and yet feel more socially and emotionally isolated than ever.  Less face time and more Facebook time may actually be starving us from the type of connection and intimacy we really crave.

Christmas is a time of year that is celebrated by a lot of people and what makes or breaks Christmas for most people is whom they get to spend face-to-face time with.  If someone has lost a loved one, Christmas may be a difficult season because they don’t get that face time.  If you have family coming into town for Christmas it’s an exciting occasion because you get to have face time (hugs, kisses and all the rest) with people you love.  Christmas is very much a season where we recognize how much we value intimate relationships.  Without these personal connections that we so cherish, life loses some of its zest and meaning.

Not surprisingly then to consider that at the heart of the Christian message is the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus.  When it comes to the brokenness of the world, God chose not to connect by remaining at a distance (as though he were hidden away in a room somewhere with a computer); God chose to meet humanity “face to face.” The Gospel of John says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14).  God did not want to remain at an arms length, God wanted (wants) an intimate connection with the creation and with those he loves (you included).  Christmas is a celebration of God’s desire to be with us.  God does not simply watch “from a distance” (sorry Julie Gold, Bette Middler, and far too many karaoke singers that seek to inspire us with their off key singing), God steps into the world.  God knows that the only way to achieve redemption, renewal, forgiveness and friendship is by face to face contact.  Sorry Facebook, you get a lump of coal this year.

 

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