One of the biggest shopping weekends of the year is past. Did you get a little carried away with your shopping? According to many reports, the stores were full of people all weekend. On the days I went out, the stores were pretty full, though we managed to miss the major crush times. Even so, as we are tallying up our Christmas purchases, we are already nearing the limit of our budget. When buying things for those we love, it is hard not to get carried away. However, is it the “Spirit of the Season” that is carrying us away or is it the “Spirit of Consumerism”?
This past Sunday, I preached a sermon on one of the more challenging narratives in Matthew’s Gospel. It is the account of Jesus telling his disciples about the end times – what it will be like when he comes again. Here is the text, taken from Oremus.org
36“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
I good friend of mine from seminary writes a weekly blog, and this week’s post was particularly insightful – so much so, that it really struck home for me. Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://omgcenter.com/2010/11/being-taken-on-an-adventure/
In a nutshell, she relates a sermon from her own pastor who discusses the word, “taken” in its context in Greek. The word “taken” in Greek is the same one used when Jesus “took” someone as a disciple. In essence, when someone is taken by God, they get carried away in mission. This is a totally different way to read this account. In essence, Jesus calls people to get “carried away” in mission, service, self-sacrifice, and devotion to God. What a different way to read a passage that is often being used to put forward a message of judgment, division, and hate.
What will carry you away this season? Will consumerism, shopping, stress, and rushing around? Will you, instead, spend time in worship, study of God’s word and prayer, so that you can get carried away by Jesus’ loving birth? In the end, Jesus was “carried away” for you, and three days later he rose again to show you the value of following God.
Many years ago, Christmas became an aggravating chore. Because it was such a chore, I’d start shopping early. I’d be done many weeks ahead of time. Then, I’d find another gift for someone. But if I bought that gift, others would lag behind in numbers and money spent on them. So I’d even up the list. This played out week after week, until Christmas was big enough to fill the entire floor space in the living room, and the money I spent on commercializing aspects of the holiday was an embarrassment. A friend recently said she didn’t want to spend a lot on Christmas, but her oldest son wanted a $300 phone. I told her that this year would be different for us, and that a few years ago, I decided to be frugal, choose gifts, not by the quantity I needed, or cost, but by the time I spent on them and the thought I put into them. This year our children and their families are receiving homemade bird feeders, black oilers and a bird book. They love and are fascinated by ours, so we decided to share our joy. Younger children receive books on rocks, fossils, the universe, insects, amphibians, etc. We’re doing Christmas this year for under one hundred bucks. And we’re excited that we can devote our thoughts to remembering why, instead of how much.
When I was a child, and I recieved a gift I did not ask for or want, I was taught to smile and thank the person anyway. My mother would tell me, “It’s the thought that counts.” For most of my life I thought that was a line that people said when what they really thought that the present was horrible. But as I grew older, and I began to celebrate Christmas for what it really meant, I began to realize how truthful my mother was. I recieved a tie last christmas that played a tune when you sqeezed it. A christmas carol. I’ve never worn it. It doesn’t match a thing I own. It looks horrible. It’s still in the plastic… But my daughter bought it with her own money. She didn’t ask for money from her mother to buy it. It’s cheap. It really means the world to me. Before I opened it she had told me she had bought it with her own money- and I loved it. Before I even knew what it was. You see, I get it now- what my mother was talking about. She was considering the ways in which to spend HER money, and she ‘thought’ of me. I guess it really is the ‘thought’ that counts.