There are many things that come to mind when I think about Christmas.

The wonder I experienced as a child at seeing all the presents and gifts under the tree and the excitement of opening presents. The excitement of my daughter when as a child she experienced the same thrills I enjoyed at her age. The marvelous aromas that wafted through the house as my mother began her annual baking of cookies and other confections that made Christmas so wonderful.

But as I sit here at my computer thinking about past, present and future Christmases, I am struck with a problem.

I haven’t gotten in the Christmas spirit, in part because I’m seeing too many accounts of the bigotry and violence in our society, and hearing politicians make ignorant and bigoted remarks about religions they know nothing or very little about and about refugees fleeing war-torn areas.

I’m not going to debate foreign or domestic policy, but I will say this: We’re all missing the reason and meaning of this most beautiful of seasons.

More than 2,000 years ago, a child was born in a manger in Bethlehem. He grew to become a man of peace who preached loving and helping others, even those we disliked. He spent time with sinners and others who people of his faith despised and belittled. He set the standard.

And because this is the Christmas season, perhaps it’s time we began recalling those lessons we learned in Sunday school, catechism and listening to our pastors preach about loving our neighbor. After all, wasn’t that one of the reasons Jesus came to earth? To teach us to love our neighbor and show us a better way to live? Isn’t that what Ghandi preached and practiced when he was moving for India’s independence?

We’ve allowed ourselves to become cynical and lazy. It’s easier to hate someone or something you don’t understand rather than take the time to stop and learn about a religion or a culture. And that applies not just to Muslims, but all religions. There is a lot of bigotry toward the different Christian and Jewish faiths practiced in our country.

My favorite Christmas story is Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” and I have two favorite movie versions of that story.

One is the English film “Scrooge.” In it, the Ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge, “We spirits of Christmas do not live one day of the year, we live all 365. So is it true of the child born in Bethlehem. He does not live in men’s hearts one day of the year, but in all days of the year. “

Perhaps that’s what we’ve forgotten, and like Scrooge, we’ve shut him out of our hearts, or only remembered him when we felt it was convenient.

It’s time we renewed that spirit.

Sorry for the sermon; felt I had to give it.

May your Christmas be full of joy and love.

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John Surratt is a staff reporter for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach him at john.surratt@vicksburgpost.com.