December 30 sermon: Confronting Christmas Culture 5 - It's Not All Finished

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

(Luke 2:25-38)

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     It’s all fading fast. I’ve already seen Christmas trees put out at the side of the road, so that now they’re just dry and dead pine trees ready to be ground up into wood chips. Decorations are being put away, lights are beginning to disappear. It’s like Christmas was a long, long time ago.  Today is December 30 and we’re all planning for New Year’s Eve by now. We’re looking ahead into 2019. I was trying to explain to someone a few weeks ago that in the church December 30 is Christmas Sunday, and they said that no one could relate to that because December 30 is after Christmas. Except that it isn’t. In the world, I know, Christmas starts at the latest by the end of November and it’s over on December 25. But in the church that’s Advent. In the church Christmas starts on December 25 - it doesn’t end on December 25. So if I’m talking all month about “Confronting Christmas Culture” - I need to reflect on this a bit. The church and the world have an entirely different understanding of Christmas. The world wants to have a giant, month long splurge of excess and then call a screeching halt to it on December 25 with the birth of Jesus being the final act in the Christmas season, if it’s thought of at all. The church says that it’s only with the birth of Jesus that Christmas and what it means – the presence of God; the coming of God to the world to share our lives – can be fully celebrated and understood. And I don’t even think that our appreciation of Christmas has to be restricted to these famous “12 days.” I’d like to think that at least a bit of Christmas and what it represents to us would be on our minds always. So I tend to lean to the Dr. Seuss school of thought – that “Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.”

     I wonder why there’s such a rush to get Christmas over with? Why do so many people seem to think that December 25 is the end of it all and they put Christmas away for the next eleven months? People talk about loving the so-called “Christmas spirit.” They talk about everything seeming brighter and people seeming happier and more friendly at Christmas-time. And yet it seems as soon as we can we pack it all away and move on. We may not be like the Grinch who tried to steal Christmas, but still it seems just a little bit Grinch-like to try to hurry it to an end. Why do we do that? Perhaps there are a couple of reasons I can think of right off the top of my head.

     Maybe – as much as we love the season and the feelings that it brings to our hearts – we’re a little bit uncomfortable with what we in the church like to call the “true meaning” of Christmas. Maybe the very idea of the incarnation of God (the idea that God would become human - “veiled in flesh the godhead see, hail the incarnate deity” we sing in a popular Christmas carol) is just too overwhelming; too unnerving and too unsettling for us to be comfortable with it for very long. So perhaps we hide ourselves behind the secular festivities and we move on as fast as we possible can to avoid having to deal with the theological implications of Christmas – with what Christmas actually tells us about God. Most of us – if we’re being honest about it – like to think that we kind of have God under control. We don’t want anything too strange or unusual to happen. We want to let God in a little bit – but just a little bit. We remember that Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was as uncontrollable as the wind – but we sure try. And we like to think we have God figured out. So most often what we end up with is a God created in our image, rather than a God who created us in God’s image. We want God to be like us. We shy away from things that make God different. Jesus is a comfortable companion for us as long as we stick to his ethical and moral teachings. Add in the virgin birth as anything more than a cute little story that works for a Sunday School pageant and we suddenly start to get nervous. Because that doesn’t make sense. That isn’t logical. And we justify rejecting it by playing with Isaiah 7:14. “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive ...” And then we realize that the word we translate as “virgin” is the Hebrew word “alma.” And then we realize that “alma” can also be translated as simply “young woman.” And lo and behold we suddenly say: “well, it has to mean ‘the young woman shall conceive.’” And we go on, having excised the great miracle of the Christmas story with a translation game. Except – it makes no sense because of the first part of the verse: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.” What sort of sign is a young woman having a child? That’s no sign. It literally happens all the time. UNICEF estimates that 353000 babies are born every single day. There were fewer people 2000 years ago and so there would have been fewer births, but still – a lot of babies were born. The only logical translation of Isaiah 7:14 is “virgin.” And that pushes us out of our comfort zone and makes God a bit scary because when God is truly in control things happen that shouldn’t happen. And the letter to Titus tells us that Jesus is the grace of God that came to earth. That’s the Christmas story. “On earth peace and good will to all.” Christmas reminds us of the scandal of divine grace. Christmas reminds us that God comes for everyone and not just the ones we deem worthy of God’s presence. If you get too deeply into it, Christmas is theologically very uncomfortable. It pushes us, it prods us, it tells us to consider the implications of a God who chooses to become flesh and to dwell among us and to live with us and to die for us. Those are big issues. It’s no wonder that even in the church we kind of rush to get it over with. Better not to be reminded perhaps of all those implications of Christmas.

     And yet, the wondrous thing is that as uncomfortable as Christmas might make us with God the more we think about it, Christmas is also a reminder to us that God is so approachable. Christmas reminds us that – as amazing as it may be – God comes to us, we don’t have to come to God. I sometimes hear Christians who speak of finding God or finding Jesus. But we don’t. God finds us; Jesus finds us.  God comes to us in the humble form of a child and remains with us throughout our lives. If the meaning of Christmas is summed up by the word “Emmanuel” - “God-With-Us” - then Christmas isn’t just a day or 12 days or a month. Christmas truly never ends. In the 1951 movie version of “A Christmas Carol” the host of Christmas Present says to Ebenezer Scrooge that “the child born in Bethlehem does not live in men’s hearts just one day of the year but all 365 days of the year.” And so he does. If December 25 represents the end then Christmas itself is pointless. But if December 25 is just the beginning then Christmas takes on a whole new meaning – with a spirit and a message to be lived throughout the year.

     The work of Jesus just got started with his birth. As Simeon said in today’s Gospel reading,

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. … This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed ...”

     The world may want to tell you otherwise. The world may be beginning its countdown to a new year, and in the next few days Christmas cards will be replaced by Valentines Day cards and all reminders of Christmas will disappear. But Christians know better. Christmas isn’t all finished just because December 25 has come and gone. The work of Christmas goes on, the presence of God is eternal and the spirit of Christmas needs to be felt all year round.

December 23 sermon: Confronting Christmas Culture 4 - It's Not All About Santa

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

(Luke 1:46-56)

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     My friends – he is everywhere now! It’s true – and it’s so exciting! I don’t know how he gets around so much, but I’ve seen him in Oshawa and I’ve seen him in Pickering and I saw a picture of him in Beaverton weeks ago. He’s everywhere! It’s so exciting! I’m talking, of course, about Santa Claus! Because it’s that time of year! What an awesome dude he is! Everywhere and all over the world and bringing presents to boys and girls. He’s truly awesome! And he knows things. Lots of things. You know what they say:

You better watch out

You better not cry

Better not pout

I'm telling you why.

Santa Claus is coming to town.

He's making a list

And checking it twice;

He's gonna find out

Who's naughty and nice.

Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping;

He knows when you're awake;

He knows if you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake!

Oh! You better watch out!

You better not cry

Better not pout

I'm telling you why:

Santa Claus is coming to town!

     Think about these words for a second: “He sees you when you're sleeping; he knows when you're awake; He knows if you've been bad or good ...” He sounds a bit like God, actually. Now, I have nothing against Santa – although when I try to type his name I notice that more often than not I make the inevitable typo and it comes out as “Satan” instead of “Santa.” My bad. But I’m not one of those Christians who rails against Santa. It’s all good, clean fun – although Lynn and I had the experience of raising a child who never ever wanted anything to do with Santa. Go figure. I think he’s a rather jolly old fellow who adds to the enjoyment of the season. But I will say this – Christmas is not all about Santa. You could say that Santa has become a secular icon for the season; almost the false god of Christmas; and far removed from his Christian origins as St. Nicholas. So maybe we do need perspective. As I said when Advent began, I don’t worry too much about the whole “Jesus is the reason for the season” stuff – but I would say that neither is Santa the reason for the season. In some ways Jesus and Santa seem to be in competition at this time of year, so I’m wondering how we could encourage people to choose Jesus, or at least to put him first. I have a few thoughts about the differences between Jesus and Santa that might help us make that choice and could remind us that, indeed, this season is not all about Santa.

     Let’s think first about where Santa lives. Now all of us know that Santa lives at the North Pole. That’s where his workshop is. That’s where his home is. That’s where the toys get made. Santa has a very special relationship with Canada. The North Pole is a little beyond Canadian territory, but the nearest inhabited place is Alert, Nunavut – so if Santa ever needs help with anything he comes to Canada. And, of course, he takes his summer vacations in Bracebridge at his own little village where he kindly invites us all to visit him. All well and good. But do you know where Jesus lives? At one and the same time he’s with God the Father interceding for us, and he’s living right in our hearts. Jesus is way better than Santa. It’s not all about Santa.

     And then – what is it about how Santa travels? In a sleigh? Pulled by reindeer? Isn’t that kind of old-fashioned? I mean – I admit that there’s an impressive quality about the fact that the reindeer can fly and that one of them has a shiny red nose, and that he can circumnavigate the entire world and stop at so many homes all in one 24 hour period. Points for Santa, I guess. But remember what I just said a moment ago – Jesus doesn’t even have to travel. He’s just always with you. Santa’s gonna leave! He’s gonna ride that flying reindeer powered sleigh back to the North Pole and aside from his summer in Bracebridge you’re not going to see him again until next Christmas. And keep in mind – Santa might ride in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer – but so what! Jesus can walk on water! So there’s maybe a couple of points for Santa, but still – Jesus is way better than Santa. It’s not all about Santa.

     And I want you to think about how hard it is to get to see Santa. I was in the Oshawa Centre last week. Just by coincidence Santa was there at the same time. And don’t tell me that it wasn’t the real Santa. I know better than that. It was him. I saw him. And people were lined up just to get a chance to sit on his lap for a few seconds to tell him what they wanted. Seriously – there was a lineup! Can you believe it! You have to line up! What’s with that? You know what you do when you want to talk to Jesus? You pray. You don’t have to go to some silly shopping mall. And how well does Santa really know you anyway? If you don’t get to see him – if the lineup is too long – will he really know what you want? Think about it - he has to have a list and he has to keep checking it. Memory issues or something. Jesus just knows you. And he knows what you need. And he never forgets. Jesus is way better than Santa. It’s not all about Santa.

     And why does Santa say “you better not cry”? I beg your pardon. We’re human. We have emotions. We cry. When sad things happen. Sometimes when happy things happen. We cry. What’s the big deal. Santa needs to get over it. But Santa seems to think there’s something wrong if you cry. “You better not cry.” I mean – I can understand the pouting part and the shouting part – but “you better not cry”? You know who cried? Jesus cried! John 11:35. Shortest verse in the entire Bible - “Jesus wept.” Is Jesus on Santa’s naughty list because of that incident? Crying’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with it. What’s with Santa’s attitude? Jesus is way better than Santa. It’s not all about Santa.

     And I hate to say it – but Santa’s biased. Apparently he prefers the good little girls and boys. Which is pretty arbitrary when you think about it. Seriously – define “good” and “bad.” How does Santa really make that call, anyway? The truly best thing about Jesus is that he doesn’t make that call. He understood perfectly. Remember what he said: “only God is good.” So Jesus gave up on the whole “naughty list” and “nice list” thing a long time ago. He just came for the world. He even said that he didn’t come for the good people – but for the bad people! Remember - “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Compare that to Santa with his lists that he can’t remember and so he has to keep checking them. Seriously. Jesus is way better than Santa. It’s not all about Santa.

     Mary said that “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” God had looked on her with favour by calling her to be the mother of Jesus. And through Mary, God sent Jesus to us. I have nothing against Santa – he’s a cultural icon and I’m sure he’s a great guy to share some milk and cookies with in the middle of the night – although keep a close eye on him because sometimes your wife will start kissing him – somebody saw that once. But Christmas is not all about Santa. Jesus – the Son of God – is far more important!

December 16 sermon - Confronting Christmas Culture 3: It's Not All About Decorations

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

(Luke 1:39-45)

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     “All that glitters is not gold.” It’s a very old saying. Some people say that variations of it go back to the 12th century, although in its current form it comes from the pen of William Shakespeare in the play “The Merchant Of Venice.” The meaning is clear enough I think. Just because something looks good doesn’t mean it’s valuable or useful or productive. Some things just glitter without meaning. Think of pyrite – better known as “fool’s gold.” Over the centuries a lot of people thought they had struck it rich by discovering gold, only to find out that it wasn’t real. There’s a lot in our world that’s glittering right about now. All you have to do is take a drive around the highways and biways or go into any shopping mall and you’ll see it. There are trees and lights and garlands and wreaths and bells and ornaments of various kinds. I have seen Santa inflatables, Grinch inflatables, snowman inflatables, penguin inflatables – inflatables of various kinds. All of them are intended to – in a sense – glitter. There’s a very long tradition of something special being done to places of worship as we approach the celebration of Christmas. We have special banners and trees and candles that make an appearance here at this time of year. Many people put in a lot of hours decorating their houses. I have to admit that I can’t even imagine a Christmas without thinking of Clark Griswold’s gaudy attempt at a Christmas light display in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Some neighbourhoods have contests for the best decorated house – if you remember Snoopy won a contest for decorating his doghouse in A Charlie Brown Christmas – and there are Christmas displays that cause traffic headaches in some areas as people come from long distance to see what some folks have managed to put together. And it’s all beautiful. What, after all, would Christmas be without some decorations for us to admire. And a Christmas tree without decorations really isn’t a Christmas tree – it’s just a pine tree.  As Burl Ives sang in “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer:”

Silver and gold, silver and gold,

Means so much more when I see

Silver and gold decorations

On every Christmas tree.

     Would it really be Christmas without decorations? Norman Vincent Peale said that “Christmas waves a magic wand over the world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” A part of the impact of that magic wand is surely the beauty of the glistening decorations around us: decorations that dazzle us. But remember the caution I began with – all that glitters is not gold. In fact, the things that glitter can simply distract us from what Christmas is supposed to be about.

     There’s actually truth to the saying that “all that glitters is not gold.” The fact is that gold doesn’t glitter. Pyrite glitters – that’s why people mistake it for gold, because people expect gold to glitter. It glitters, so it must be important, it must be valuable. But gold doesn’t glitter. Real gold is actually a rather dull metal with very little shine to it. Sometimes the things of the most importance – the things of real substance – easily get lost in the midst of the shiny things that are all around us. We romanticize the manger, turning it into an almost charming place to give birth rather than accepting it as what it was – a dirty, smelly stable. And, I’d point out, we do the same with the end of Jesus’ life as well, so that the cross – a crude object of torture in Roman times – becomes a beautiful crafted piece of wood, often (as in here) with heavenly lights shining upon it. It’s almost as if we need the glitter to convince ourselves that the story is actually worth telling.

     And yet, Jesus doesn’t glitter like gold, or like a Christmas ornament. In Isaiah 53, and in speaking of the Messiah to come, the prophet said that “he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” But I think we get so dazzled by the concept of Christmas that we can forget the reality of Christmas. Even the way that we deal with certain aspects of the biblical story suggests that we’re often more concerned with sizzle than with steak – so when we talk about Matthew’s Christmas story and the visit of the magi (who were likely astrologers) we inevitably turn them into much more impressive kings – even though there’s nothing in the Bible that suggests that they were kings. But “kings” seems to fit the season so much better – it’s a word and an image that’s far more in keeping with the glitter of the season.

     I thought about this morning’s Scripture reading as I was reflecting on why it seems so important for us to be dazzled  by the Christmas story and the Christmas season. There was nothing particularly dazzling about the scene today’s reading describes. Two mothers to be – cousins to each other – share a visit with one another in “a Judean town in the hill country.” It was an out of the way location – not the centre of anything in particular – for these two to meet: one to be the mother of Jesus, and one the mother of John the Baptist. You would have thought that there might have been more of a fuss, more excitement, more – well – glitter, but there wasn’t. There were no strings of lights, no wreaths and no shiny baubles hanging off trees. Just two women sharing unexpected pregnancies - an experience that must have at one and the same time been both frightening and overwhelming to them.

     Perhaps it’s in reflecting on this story – essentially the first meeting between Jesus and John the Baptist, even though both were in the womb and not yet born – that we start to understand the point of Christmas. What was the purpose of God in coming in flesh to the world? Was it to dazzle us? I think that surely there were more effective ways that God could have dazzled us than by coming as a baby in a manger. The point of Christmas, perhaps, is that God chose to descend not to a world that glitters, but to a world that is hurting and broken; that God chose to become a part of this hurting and broken world, to share in our lives with all of our struggles, to experience our hurts and pains and sufferings and, ultimately, even death. None of that glitters. None of that decorates the Christmas season in the way we’ve come to expect – but maybe that is the meaning of Christmas.

     In 1517, Martin Luther preached a Christmas Day sermon. He invited his congregation to consider the conditions in which Christ was born:

There was no one to take pity on this young wife who was for the first time to give birth to a child; no one to take to heart her condition that she, a stranger, did not have the least thing a mother needs in a birth-night. There she is without any preparation, without wither light or fire, alone in the darkness, without anyone offering her service as is customary for women to do at such times. Everything is in commotion at the inn, there is a swarming of guests from all parts of the country, no one thinks of this poor woman. … Just imagine what kind of swaddling clothes they were in which she wrapped the child. … Is it not strange that the birth of Christ occurs … in such a poor and despicable manner?

     Martin Luther was himself engaging in conjecture. The Bible really doesn’t tell us very much about the conditions surrounding Jesus’ birth – but I do suspect that it was pretty rough. Luther asks, “is it not strange that the birth of Christ occurs … in such a poor and despicable manner?” Not really, I’d say. Considering the world God entered and the work that lay ahead for Jesus – that was probably far more appropriate than entering a world full of glitter and lights.

December 9 sermon - Confronting Christmas Culture 2: It's Not All About Shopping

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

(Luke 1:26-38)

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     We spend a lot of time as Christmas approaches wondering what nto buy for the people in our lives. There’s a story told of a woman who gave her husband a burial plot for Christmas. Suffice to say, he wasn’t very impressed. The next year, she didn’t give him anything. He was actually hurt. He said to her, “why didn’t you give me anything for Christmas this year?” She looked at him and said “Why should I? You didn’t use what I gave you last year!”

     I did some research a few days ago on shopping habits in Canada at this time of year. I couldn’t find specifics from 2017, but I did come across some fascinating numbers from December of 2016. I’m not sure how things are going to go this year, of course, but based on what I’ve already seen in various stores and shopping malls over the last little while I’d say this is probably going to be pretty accurate. Not all of these amounts are directly due to Christmas, of course – because these items get purchased all year round – but spending in December according to every source I consulted is always substantially higher than in any other month. From Statistics Canada, here’s how much Canadians spent based on products bought at large suppliers in December 2016:

On food and drinks, Canadians spent – $5.1 billion

On TVs, audio and video equipment, Canadians spent – $459.9 million

On toys, games and hobby supplies, including electronic games, Canadians spent – $417.8 million

On computer hardware and software, Canadians spent – $274.9 million

On small electrical appliances, Canadians spent – $263.4 million

On tableware, kitchenware, cookware and bakeware, Canadians spent – $238.5 million

On cosmetics and fragrances, Canadians spent – $154.8 million

On sporting goods, Canadians spent – $171.6 million

On jewellery and watches, Canadians spent – $118.0 million

On stationery, office supplies, cards, gift wrap and party supplies, Canadians spent – $98.7 million

On cameras and related photographic equipment and supplies, Canadians spent – $73.7 million

     That’s a lot of shopping! Happy holidays and merry Christmas, indeed! It certainly is for large suppliers!

      Shopping – and the gifts we get – tend to be the focus at this time of year. And we instill that idea in our children’s minds from a very young age as we introduce them to Santa and they give him their list of what they want for Christmas. Please understand that I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be giving gifts to others. I suppose that the tradition of giving gifts for Christmas flows from the story in Matthew’s Gospel of the wise men bringing gifts to the child they found in Bethlehem. There’s nothing wrong with showing our love and friendship with giving gifts, but sometimes it does get out of hand, and the focus of the season becomes the gifts themselves, rather than the people. Let’s be honest. Have you ever had someone give you a gift and rather than being thankful for it you’ve been disappointed with it? You’ve thought they should have got you something else? You thought they should have known you well enough that they’d have known that the collection of dish towels wasn’t exactly what you wanted to find under your tree? So, in other words, the gift rather than the giver was what mattered. I may not be a Mormon, but I think Brigham Young gave some pretty good advice: “Love the giver more than the gift.”

     Having said that, let’s also be honest. Most of us like to get gifts, don’t we? And so most of us feel that in order to make those we care about happy at Christmas, we have to buy gifts – sometimes lots of them! So Christmas turns into a gigantic shopping spree, except that unlike the shopping sprees you win, you have to pay for all the things you buy. We buy for our co-workers, we buy for our friends, we buy for our spouses and our children and our parents. And rather than the joy of the Christmas season, after doing that what happens is that many people end up with the post-Christmas hangover when the credit card bills come in to pay for it all. I read in the course of my research that one third of people will take over seven months to pay off their Christmas debts. So in other words, you’re pretty much at the point when stores will be trying to entice you to start your Christmas shopping (because I see Christmas displays appearing in some stores in August) before you’ve even managed to pay for everything you bought the year before. And this never ending cycle of shopping and buying and paying and debt goes on and on and on – and the stores rejoice, and the banks who charge you interest rejoice. But we usually don’t rejoice when the January credit card bill arrives. So maybe – just maybe – we have our focus all wrong at this time of year.

     I’m thinking of today’s Gospel reading. Mary received a wonderful gift – and I’m not even talking about the baby Jesus. The gift Mary received was the knowledge that she was loved and favoured by God; that she was chosen by God for a special purpose. She learned that her value wasn’t to be measured by what kind of gifts she received from others, but from the gift she received from God – to be accepted and chosen and used in God’s plan. That’s something you can’t buy in a store. Usually, when we think of the Christmas story, we think of Mary giving birth, but really in many ways the key to the whole story was what happened before she was even pregnant – and what mattered was really these words; “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” The gift that God gave Mary was not the baby Jesus; the gift God gave Mary was the knowledge that she was loved, accepted and even favoured by God. Those were not expensive gifts; this was simply Mary coming to realize the very nature of God – a God who gives for the sake of his children. The greatest gift Mary received was the gift of being assured of God’s presence. If we think back for  moment to Matthew’s Gospel - what do you think pleased God the most in that story? Was it the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus, or was it the fact that they simply came to him that counted the most? I am not saying there is anything wrong with buying gifts for others at Christmas. I think the desire to give gifts shows a very Christian heart. But, I think that as we do buy things for others, we should try to remember that the most important gift of all that we can give is ourselves.

     I want to go back for just a moment to those words from Brigham Young: “Love the giver more than the gift.” We can give those around us many things this Christmas, but none of them even come close to the love we give them by merely being around them and sharing time with them. Your presence is the best possible gift you could ever get for someone whom you love and treasure, and their presence is the best possible gift they could give to you. In the orgy of commercialism and shopping that marks the Christmas season, we need to learn to value the people around us more than we value the material things that we buy and put under the tree.

December 2 sermon - Confronting Christmas Culture 1: It's Not All About Parties

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

(Luke 1:5-17)

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     According to the old familiar song, “’tis the season to be jolly.” And I have no arguments against being jolly – leading up to Christmas or any other time of the year. But as we’ve moved into December, into the Advent season, and as Christmas starts to appear on the horizon, I note one other thing: “’tis the season of silly internet memes and perhaps a wee bit of paranoia to top it off.” We’re going to start to hear from people that “there’s a war on Christmas.” But no there isn’t. There’s no war on Christmas. No one anywhere in this country is going to try to prevent you from celebrating Christmas in whatever way you choose to celebrate it. We’re going to hear people grumbling about those who say “Happy Holidays.” Well … so what? Say “Merry Christmas” back. I’ve never yet had anyone get offended when I respond to whatever seasonal greeting they choose with “Merry Christmas.” Usually, it elicits a smile in response. You’re going to hear people saying “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Often that’s in response to public schools that organize holiday concerts that don’t include Christian carols about Jesus. But why in the world would we want to force people who aren’t Christians to sing hymns about Jesus? If keeping Christ in Christmas is your concern, then my advice is simple: try being Christ for Christmas. Act like him, speak like him, live like him and love like him. That’s the best way to keep Christ in Christmas. And you’re going to hear people saying “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Well, actually, Saturnalia is the reason for the season. It was a giant pagan festival in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice and the church decided to take it over to celebrate Jesus’ birth – since there was already a big party going on anyway. Ahhh. A big party. “’tis the season to be jolly,” “’tis the season for silly internet memes,” and ‘tis also the season for parties. They’ve already started. One of our local grocery stores in Beaverton had a sign up at the cash registers a few days ago to say that they were closing early on November 24 for the staff Christmas party. A bit early for a Christmas party, methinks – but no one from Fisher’s Independent Grocer consulted me about it.

     Parties galore. Everyone has a Christmas party. Food and music and all sorts of other things. If you’re involved with enough activities it’s easy to get consumed by all the parties that go on, because literally almost every group has a Christmas party. And, of course, it’s understandable. While we may as Christians sometimes lament the lack of a spiritual focus on Christmas and sometimes even the lack of Christ in Christmas, it’s just a reality we have to contend with that the culture has taken over Christmas, and the culture decides what’s important. For many people today, Christmas isn’t so much about Christ – although many will still show up in church as Christmas approaches. And while I don’t rail against the secular Christmas with all of its distractions, I do think that it’s important for us to be reminded that the distractions are a sideshow and that for all the various parties and celebrations that take place out there in the world, this season of the year is more than just a giant party.

     I sometimes think that parties in the world today have an air of escapism to them. We’re regularly confronted by the problems of the world around us – whether far away things like natural disasters or things that hit closer to home like the closure of the GM plant in Oshawa. And often we feel helpless and overwhelmed. And perhaps to escape those feelings we choose to throw parties. Or we face personal crises involving our health or relationships and we prefer not to face them, instead choosing to  avoid them with fun but largely empty celebrations. In contrast, let’s go back to our Gospel reading this morning: Zechariah and Elizabeth were old. They had lived good and righteous lives, but in a society that often measured a person’s worth by how many children they had, Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless. There may have been a sense of satisfaction in their lives that they had lived in a way that had pleased God, but there was likely little joy; little hope. Perhaps there was even a sense of doubt in their minds that they had actually been able to please God – after all, why hadn’t God given them a child? And yet, in the midst of their doubt and perhaps despair, something wonderful happened: a message from God! “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” That sounds a little bit like a party - “joy and gladness” - but it’s not the kind of party we usually associate with the Christmas season. This was going to be a celebration of God, who works in wonderful and mysterious ways – not a raucous, music-filled social event, but an awe-filled time of rejoicing in what the divine can accomplish in our lives and in our world.

     In the Bible it’s so often the birth of children who reveal the presence of God in our midst. Abraham and Sarah were both old and childless so how could God’s promise of a great nation arising from Abraham’s descendants possibly come true – and then Isaac was born and became the bearer of God’s promise. Moses was destined to be killed at birth by an evil Pharaoh who wanted the Hebrew babies destroyed – but he was born and he survived and called by God he became the liberator of his people. The great prophet Samuel was born to Hannah after Hannah prayed to God in earnest after being been abused and made to feel worthless because she couldn’t have children. Our story today makes the birth of John the Baptist – who would prepare the way for Jesus - another sign of God’s presence. And, of course, there’s the greatest biblical birth story of all: the birth of Jesus; the incarnation of God. The hymn writer Christina Rosetti once wrote a Christmas carol that says “our God becomes incarnate in every human birth.” I’ll be honest – I don’t agree with that. She’s overstating the point by essentially making all of us “Emmanuel.” But if she worded it poorly, I think I understand what she was trying to say – each of us, in our own way, is a revelation of God; each of us made in the image of God. Each of us have a responsibility to bear witness to God in the world around us. People come to know God through us. Someone once said that it’s a great responsibility to be a Christian because you may come to be the only Christ some people will ever know.

     Parties are great – Christmas parties are lots of fun! I don’t want to give anyone the impression that if you’re a Christian you can’t go to a Christmas party and have fun. But let’s remember that this time of year isn’t all about parties. We’re celebrating God’s appearance in the world, and that divine appearance doesn’t promise us a party. It promises us a blessing; and it promises us great responsibility. So in all the celebrating we do at this time of year, let’s remember that the purpose of this season isn’t to give us an excuse to party – it’s to give us an opportunity to focus, to watch, to prepare for what amazing thing God might do. In the words of Henry Van Dyke, “In praying and praising, in giving and receiving, in eating and drinking, in singing and making merry, in parents’ gladness and in children’s mirth … God bless us every one, with the blessing of Jesus.” This time of the year is about far more than parties – it’s about more than the food and gifts and music you’ll find at them. This time of year (and all year, really) is about the blessing of Jesus – and that gives us reason to celebrate and to look to God with awe and wonder.