2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
Luke 2:1-6 (NRSV)
STORY
As a young vaudeville actor, Bob Hope found himself alone each Christmas. The grueling road schedule prevented him from returning to his hometown of Cleveland for the holiday. Each Christmas morning Hope would think of his family worshiping at Euclid Avenue Presbyterian Church without him, followed by a family dinner of turkey and plum pudding. For the Hope household Christmas was a family day, and Bob longed to join them around the hearth.
In 1948, Senator Stuart Symington, who represented Missouri, asked Bob Hope to entertain American military personnel in Berlin with a special Christmas celebration. Never forgetting the loneliness that he felt as a young performer in a strange city far from home, Hope readily agreed. That was the beginning of what Bob Hope would call his “Christmas family.” A Christmas family of thousands of homesick servicemen and women with whom, for many years, he shared annual Christmas greetings.
Each Christmas day as Bob Hope walked onto the stage, gazing at the throng of gathered men and women, he would begin the performance by saying to himself, “It’s a long way from Cleveland.” With those words he could empathize with the forlorn GIs.
DEVOTION
Bethlehem was the hometown of Joseph. When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, it appears, since there is no mention of it is made in the scriptures, that family and friends were absent to welcome them. In fact, as portrayed in the scriptures, there is such a scene of isolation that a stranger offered the couple shelter. The facilities were substandard, though it was a place of refuge.
For Joseph and Mary it was “a long way from Cleveland.”
Every season of the year is a season that lives in the message of Christmas. A message of inclusion, acceptance, and love. The message of Christmas, for the month of December and all the months that follow, is a message of inviting the lonely and the outcast into your home and into your church. For so many people it is “a long way from Cleveland” on birthdays, holidays, Sunday dinner after church, and many lonely evenings sitting before the television.
For many on special days and ordinary days there will be some individuals sitting alone at a table surrounded by many empty chairs. For these individuals, who are weary and alone, it will be “a long way from Cleveland.”
For others, they will be sitting at a table surrounded with chairs holding many occupants; yet, among all those chairs there will be that one empty chair. That is the empty chair that once seated a loved one who will be present no more. That empty chair will always be a reminder for those gathered that it is “a long way from Cleveland.”
There are many empty chairs.
There are so so many empty chairs.
A national health advisory was issued by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on May 3, 2023 regarding the seriousness of loneliness in our country, which he considers to be an epidemic. He wrote, “Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health.” In his report Murphy, on a personal note as he spoke with individuals across the country, continued to share:
People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant. Even when they couldn’t put their finger on the word “lonely,” time and time again, people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, from every corner of the country, would tell me, “I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,” or “if I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice.” It was a lightbulb moment for me: social disconnection was far more common than I had realized.
Supporting the Surgeon’s General health advisory, Dr. Clay Marsh, a professor of clinical medicine at the West Virginia University, wrote an article for the online magazine The Conversation that was published on July 14, 2023. In that article he shared that “1 in 6 Americans reported feeling lonely and isolated.” The mental and physical effects of loneliness are serious as Marsh reported, “As surprising as it sounds, social isolation and loneliness have the same effect on human health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, which is to say, it can shorten life span by up to 15 years.” There are many causes for loneliness, though the professor did disclose:
While there are no definitive explanations for these high numbers, experts have suggested several possible determinants: the mobility of the population, the shift from in-person to remote work and learning since the beginning of the pandemic, and the deep divides in society caused by social media and irresponsible news sites. To grab the attention of viewers, some advertisers and media leaders understand that human beings are biased toward messages that activate fear and loss. In fact, the scientific term “aversion bias” demonstrates people are twice as fearful of loss as happy for gain.
Be aware of an individual in your church community or neighborhood that for him or her this day for them it “is a long way from Cleveland.” If you have a compassionate disposition, go to these individuals and invite them to be a part of your “Christmas family.”