Bradley Byrne: Christmas traditions old and new
I was recently asked what my favorite Christmas tradition is and found that a surprisingly hard question to answer. It seems that nearly every moment is a tradition with my family, and that makes it hard to pick just one. From making gumbo Christmas Eve morning to wrapping presents to gathering on Christmas Day, there are so many individual moments that add up to make the season special. This year, we have added new traditions to our family’s celebration with our grandchildren, MacGuire and Ann-Roberts. There was no greater scene of pure joy than when we picked out our Christmas tree with them, and then as they helped Rebecca and me decorate the tree. After I thought more on my what favorite Christmas tradition is, I reflected on why we celebrate the Christmas season in the first place. The church’s liturgical calendar begins with the season of Advent. From the lighting of the first candle, the new year has begun, anticipating the birth of our Savior on Christmas. The entirety of the year depends upon the preparation for and celebration of the birth of Christ. Epiphany, Lent, and Easter all rely on that first candle’s light proclaiming the coming of the Lord, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Similar, yet still very different, to our holiday preparations today, there were many small moments that added up to the joy of that first Christmas night. From the angel proclaiming the news to Mary, Mary telling Joseph, and the long trek to Bethlehem, many small parts had to come together in the Town of David. My favorite Christmas tradition is without a doubt going to church as a family on Christmas Eve and worshipping Jesus on his birth. From the light of the first candle, all those in attendance on Christmas Eve light their own candles. No one person’s candle could light the church, but together, we all fill the church with the soft amber glow. In the same way, the good news of the birth of Christ cannot be proclaimed by one person alone. His light must be carried by millions, proclaiming His word and salvation. After the readings, hymns, prayers, homily, and communion my favorite portion of the service occurs. The first few bars of Silent Night are played, and the church joins in together with the choir. Slowly, all the lights in the church are extinguished, and we are left to sing the last verse in darkness. The last line fades into the dark of the night, “sleep in heavenly peace…” and all is still. That moment of calm reflection on the entirety of the past year, the highs and lows, rejoicing and tears, makes one think of how truly blessed we are in our daily lives. Those living in the darkness of fear, illness, poverty, or other challenges this year, I hope you take comfort this Christmas season in the words written in John 1:5, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” For my family, friends, and staff, I am thankful for the past year we have shared together and anticipate the joys of the next. And to the people of Southwest Alabama, I say thank you for your generosity, kindness, and prayers throughout the years. I look forward to hearing from you and serving you next year. As you celebrate your favorite Christmas traditions this year, I hope you take a moment to give thanks for your blessings and remember the birth of our Savior. From my family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas! • • • Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
Jac VerSteeg: Hamlet, Clint Eastwood and Jesus on Kenneth Starr
When Hamlet, Clint Eastwood and Jesus agree on something, it must be true. Said Hamlet: “Use every man after his desert, and who should ’scape whipping?” Said Clint in “Unforgiven:” “We all got it coming, kid.” Said Jesus: “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” Those quotes should instill underlying caution when criticizing or accusing someone. Beware the boomerang effect. Take, as a recent example, Kenneth Starr. Starr was the independent counsel who probed – and probed, and probed and probed – the allegations of misconduct that led to the House impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton in 1998. Starr’s findings were drenched in sleaze. That’s true in large part because Bill Clinton’s actions were drenched in sleaze. Nevertheless, Starr has been seen as the run-amok tool of a Republican Party hell-bent on removing Clinton from office using the pretext of a sex scandal that did not rise to the level of an impeachable offense. And, since the Senate did not convict and remove Clinton, that judgment has festered. Nearly two decades later, Starr is dealing with his own sex scandal. As president of Baylor University in Texas, Starr presided over an administration that enabled the school’s athletics department to cover up sexual assaults by players. The conduct was so egregious that Baylor fired football coach Art Briles and ousted Starr as president. Oh, the irony. Clinton clung to his presidency; Starr relinquished his. The man who left no stone unturned (or dress unexamined) when pursuing Clinton buried his head in the sand when his own nest was being befouled. Had Starr carried out investigations at Baylor with the same zeal he brought to the Clinton probe, he and the university would have avoided major embarrassment. Even worse for Starr, his laxity had the effect of harming a number of victims. Not only did they suffer the initial assaults, they suffered from the ongoing cover-ups, which denied them dignity and justice. There is evidence Starr has been humbled by experience. Just days before he was removed as Baylor president, Starr unexpectedly rose to Clinton’s defense in remarks at a forum hosted by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Amid attacks from Donald Trump that dragged up Bill Clinton’s exploitation of Monica Lewinsky and renewed the completely unfounded speculation that Hillary Clinton might have been involved in the “murder” of Vince Foster, Starr praised Clinton’s compassion and praiseworthy actions since leaving office. “His compassion for human beings is absolutely clear,” Starr said of Clinton. … “The ‘I feel your pain is absolutely genuine.” “There are certain tragic dimensions which we all lament,” Starr said. “That having been said, this redemptive process afterwards, we have certainly seen that powerfully.” You have to wonder if Starr was pondering his own situation and preparing for his own redemptive journey. It’s a journey others involved in the attempt to remove Clinton from office have had to undertake. Newt Gingrich and Bob Livingston left the House amid revelations about their own sexual escapades. They were followed by Dennis Hastert, who has just been sentenced to prison in a case that revealed he had sexually abused young boys while he was a teacher. For a Florida angle, I would note that then-Rep. Bill McCollum was a leader in presenting the House’s impeachment case to the Senate. He has not been hit with a sex scandal. But neither did his lead impeachment role boost his political fortunes. He lost a Senate bid to Bill Nelson in 2000 and failed to win the GOP Senate nomination in 2004. After being elected attorney general in 2006, he lost to Rick Scott in his 2010 bid for the GOP’s gubernatorial nomination. While it is appropriate to note the irony in Starr’s current disgrace and in the political and legal problems that have plagued many of those who went after Clinton, I would caution against unbridled taunting, sneering and rejoicing. Don’t ignore it. Corruption and faults need to be exposed. But the proper emotion, folks, is sadness. We’re all humans. In one way or another, we all got it coming. And to quote anonymous: “Payback is a bitch.” ___ Jac Wilder VerSteeg is a columnist for The South Florida Sun-Sentinel and former deputy editorial page editor for The Palm Beach Post.
