O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 118:1
Have you seen that ill-conceived Buick advertisement in which a man whose wife has just given him a not-Buick car for Christmas looks longingly at a Buick as it drives by? The ad’s emphasis on longing after status, of placing that longing ahead of a genuine act of generosity, disturbs me greatly. Have we become a nation of ungrateful wretches who weigh the value of gifts not by the intent and sentiment behind them but by the dollar amount or status they represent?
Two Sundays ago, the Dayton Daily News had a headline on the Life section that disturbed me as much as the Buick ad: “The 10 Most Tired Gifts This Season…and What to Give Instead.” The author lists such gifts as coffee mugs, picture frames, neckties, fruitcakes, and wallets as bad ideas for gifts.
The article says more about a particular perspective on giving than on what constitutes a tired gift. In a culture of excess, old-fashioned gifts are “tired,” and newer, glitzier, more expensive gifts are what is valued. The article, for instance, suggests giving an electronic photo frame instead of a regular picture frame. Regular frames might run $10-$30 and up. Sure, you can pick a cheap electronic one up for $30 or so, but the reviews on those are universally bad. To get a good one, you need to spend at least $120, but the best ones are over $200.
Somehow, that doesn’t seem quite a reasonable substitute for those of us who haven’t won the lottery.
The author also has it in for giving candles. She writes,
“Women especially are plagued by decorative or scented candle gifts. It’s basically a go-to present when you don’t have much time, thought or money to put into a gift. And that’s what it says to the recipient. Plus, no one actually needs a candle since the invention of electricity.”
I consider candles a luxury item precisely because they are not needed. I love how they can add a decorative element of the evocative scents of the season (and counter the smell of cooked onions and garlic). I love the flickering light of candles. When they are burning, I want to make a cup of tea and find a good book and relax. And when Hurricane Ike hit Ohio, I was especially grateful for them as we did without electricity for days on end.
Candles make me feel warm and happy inside. When I receive a candle as a gift, I am grateful for that warmth and happiness, and when I give candles as gifts, I’m trying to give that warm and happy feeling. I sure hope the people who have received them from me knew that.
Gift giving provokes a lot of opinions on what constitutes a good or bad gift, and the multitude of opinions adds to the stress of choosing gifts. Teachers, for instance, often get tired of receiving apple-themed gifts, and frankly, I can see their point. But what do you get for someone whom you only know in a professional capacity? How personal can it be?
How personal were the gifts given to Jesus by the three wise men? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are certainly expensive, and definitely gifts of status and wealth. But then, the wise men were kings, giving gifts to the King of Kings. In a book titled Everything Christmas, I found the following story:
“A Sunday School teacher was telling her class of fourth-graders the Christmas story of three Wise Men bringing gifts to the Baby Jesus. A little girl who had recently become the big sister of a brand-new brother said: ‘Well, I guess gold and all that stuff are all right, but I’ll bet Mary really wished somebody had brought some diapers.”
And therein lies our dilemma. Do we buy practical gifts, luxury gifts, fun gifts, useful gifts? What does each person on our list prefer? How can we know? What exactly is the point of Christmas gift giving? Is it to let people know we love them and are thinking of them? Or is to see how much money we can spend? To stress out finding the perfect gifts for our 100 closest family and friends? To go into debt? To look good and impress others? To revitalize the economy? To make other people feel obligated to give us gifts?
And what is our attitude as we receive gifts? Are we filled with gratitude that someone thought of us at all? Or do we judge the gifts and weigh them against the gifts we didn’t get? Do we wonder if we spent more on someone than he or she spent on us? Do we wish the person had given us something else? Do we immediately make plans to exchange it for something we really want? Do we get wrapped up in our culture of excess and status and forget what Christmas is all about?
When God gave us Jesus, He gave us the greatest gift ever given: The Son of God given for our salvation and to teach us how to love. I can’t compete with that sort of gift. Can you?
But we can use that gift as a model for our own gift giving and receiving. Let everything go, all the fretting and worrying and waffling over gifts. Focus only on expressing your love and accepting the love given by others. Give gifts with a spirit of love and gratitude, and receive gifts in the same spirit.
Even that fruitcake from Aunt Matilda, because like God’s steadfast love, it will endure forever, which makes it a pretty cool gift, if you think about it that way.
What gift have you been given for which you are particularly grateful? What gift have you given that particulaly showed love to the recipient?
Showing posts with label Advent Devotionals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent Devotionals. Show all posts
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Advent Devotional 2: Gratitude for an Anachronism
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 118:1
While reading the Modern Manners column in December’s Real Simple magazine, I encountered this paragraph by Michelle Slatalla:
“Here we are, a nation of people throwing out our old fax machines and canceling landline phones. And yet we cling to the anachronistic tradition of sending holiday cards.”
Anachronistic? Really?
Lots of people think so. And the arguments they muster against sending greeting cards are both impressive and persuasive.
“Who has time to send cards? It’s just one more thing to do and I have too much to do already!”
“It’s easier and cheaper to send an email. Or maybe I’ll just tweet my greetings this year.”
“Greeting cards are a waste of paper. Think of the trees we’d save if we did away with them.”
“Most of my friends don’t send them so why should I?”
“It’s all a scam by the greeting card industry.”
“It’s so boring!”
In addition to complaints about sending cards, there are the complaints receiving them.
“Why are Sally’s Christmas letters so full of bragging? You’d think her kids farted rainbows.”
“Why does Uncle Joe bother? His cards are always cheap and tacky.”
“Jane always tries to one-up us with her ostentatious cards. She’s such a show-off!”
“Oh, great. Cousin Ethel sent us a Christmas card. Now we have to send her one. Will she just give it up?”
“So-and-so just uploads her address book to Snapfish and clicks a button to send her cards. It’s so impersonal!”
Finally, there’s the relieved celebration involved when someone fails to send a card and you feel perfectly justified in striking them from next year’s list.
I confess that I am seriously guilty of a number of these negative thoughts about Christmas cards, though in the last eight years, since I started making my own cards, I’ve shed most (perhaps not all) of them. Of course, there are a whole host of complaints about receiving handmade cards, too. Some recipients equate handmade with cheap (so absolutely NOT true). Most handmade cards are smaller than store-bought, and small is also equated with cheap (again, so absolutely NOT true).
Plenty of paper crafters who make cards also hear comments like “You must have a lot of time on your hands!” As you can imagine, they often strike such insensitive people from their handmade card lists and just send them a token—and cheap—store-bought card or nothing at all.
Why waste the handmade effort on someone who doesn’t appreciate it?
The custom of sending greeting cards is pretty old: thousands of years old, in fact. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians exchanged slips of paper and papyrus greetings in demonstrations of goodwill and friendship. In Europe, as early as 1400, when paper was becoming widely available, handmade and woodblock-printed cards were exchanged among the rich and literate. Efficient and inexpensive printing technology developed in the Victorian period allowed greeting cards to become affordable and widely available.
In our high-tech, fast-paced culture, we’re quick to shed the old-fashioned ways of doing things in favor of high-tech, fast-paced ways. What’s the point of keeping a tradition that’s quaint and wasteful and expensive and time-consuming and will just end up not being appreciated anyway?
Gabriel J. Adams offers the best argument possible in favor of greeting cards in general. “Greeting cards have evolved from an item used only by the rich to an everyday tradition. Whether you want to communicate with far-off relatives, or just let your sweetie know how much you love them—greeting cards make a great (and inexpensive) way to brighten up someone's day!”
Sounds like an advertisement for Hallmark, doesn’t it? Yet it’s absolutely right. How happy are you when you see a greeting card in the mail, amidst bills and marketing pieces? Is that happiness an anachronism? Someone thought about you, took time to pick (or make) a card for you, signed it, addressed it, put a stamp on it, and mailed it. When you look at them this way, greeting cards are a tangible representation that someone loves you and cares about you. With our families and friends scattered all over the globe, taking time—making time—to show goodwill to our loved ones is especially important.
Most of the arguments against Christmas cards share a common flaw: they are self-centered and ungrateful. We’re inconvenienced, made poorer, or feel slighted or obligated or harassed or bored. We concentrate on what we get out of sending them and decide it’s not enough to justify the expense. We don’t get good value for our dollar.
Perhaps it might be better to think about the whole Christmas card issue a bit differently.
Even if the ancient Egyptians were sending their papyrus slips at the time, greeting cards are not mentioned in the Bible, but the Christmas story in Luke does provide good justification for them. Poor shepherds got the good news of Jesus' birth first.
And, lo, an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord….” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
After the shepherds visited Jesus, they left and told others the good news of great joy. They shared their joy, spread it around. They weren’t wondering what they would get out of it. They weren’t expecting anything in return for their good news. They weren’t keeping a list of whom they told and who made them joyful in return. They just shared the good will that had been shared with them.
They were thankful and felt compelled to pass it on.
If we, as Christians, are filled with the good will and gratitude of Christmas, we will be more like the shepherds. We will share the good news of great joy without reservation. We know that God is love, that He sent Jesus to give us a new commandment, more important than any other: to love one another. One way to love is to stay connected, to reach out and touch someone far away or close to home, and to say, simply, "Merry Christmas."
How we do this is irrelevant. The phone, e-cards, e-mails, tweets, and Facebook posts certainly get the job done, as does a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" shouted out in person. I'm certainly grateful for all my Merry Christmases, however they come. But for me, anachronistic greeting cards, with their long tradition and the gift of time spent sending them, will always stand out as a tangible and meaningful expression of that love.
How do you plan to share your Merry Christmases this year with gratitude and good will? Please share in the comments!
While reading the Modern Manners column in December’s Real Simple magazine, I encountered this paragraph by Michelle Slatalla:
“Here we are, a nation of people throwing out our old fax machines and canceling landline phones. And yet we cling to the anachronistic tradition of sending holiday cards.”
Anachronistic? Really?
Lots of people think so. And the arguments they muster against sending greeting cards are both impressive and persuasive.
“Who has time to send cards? It’s just one more thing to do and I have too much to do already!”
“It’s easier and cheaper to send an email. Or maybe I’ll just tweet my greetings this year.”
“Greeting cards are a waste of paper. Think of the trees we’d save if we did away with them.”
“Most of my friends don’t send them so why should I?”
“It’s all a scam by the greeting card industry.”
“It’s so boring!”
In addition to complaints about sending cards, there are the complaints receiving them.
“Why are Sally’s Christmas letters so full of bragging? You’d think her kids farted rainbows.”
“Why does Uncle Joe bother? His cards are always cheap and tacky.”
“Jane always tries to one-up us with her ostentatious cards. She’s such a show-off!”
“Oh, great. Cousin Ethel sent us a Christmas card. Now we have to send her one. Will she just give it up?”
“So-and-so just uploads her address book to Snapfish and clicks a button to send her cards. It’s so impersonal!”
Finally, there’s the relieved celebration involved when someone fails to send a card and you feel perfectly justified in striking them from next year’s list.
I confess that I am seriously guilty of a number of these negative thoughts about Christmas cards, though in the last eight years, since I started making my own cards, I’ve shed most (perhaps not all) of them. Of course, there are a whole host of complaints about receiving handmade cards, too. Some recipients equate handmade with cheap (so absolutely NOT true). Most handmade cards are smaller than store-bought, and small is also equated with cheap (again, so absolutely NOT true).
Plenty of paper crafters who make cards also hear comments like “You must have a lot of time on your hands!” As you can imagine, they often strike such insensitive people from their handmade card lists and just send them a token—and cheap—store-bought card or nothing at all.
Why waste the handmade effort on someone who doesn’t appreciate it?
The custom of sending greeting cards is pretty old: thousands of years old, in fact. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians exchanged slips of paper and papyrus greetings in demonstrations of goodwill and friendship. In Europe, as early as 1400, when paper was becoming widely available, handmade and woodblock-printed cards were exchanged among the rich and literate. Efficient and inexpensive printing technology developed in the Victorian period allowed greeting cards to become affordable and widely available.
In our high-tech, fast-paced culture, we’re quick to shed the old-fashioned ways of doing things in favor of high-tech, fast-paced ways. What’s the point of keeping a tradition that’s quaint and wasteful and expensive and time-consuming and will just end up not being appreciated anyway?
Gabriel J. Adams offers the best argument possible in favor of greeting cards in general. “Greeting cards have evolved from an item used only by the rich to an everyday tradition. Whether you want to communicate with far-off relatives, or just let your sweetie know how much you love them—greeting cards make a great (and inexpensive) way to brighten up someone's day!”
Sounds like an advertisement for Hallmark, doesn’t it? Yet it’s absolutely right. How happy are you when you see a greeting card in the mail, amidst bills and marketing pieces? Is that happiness an anachronism? Someone thought about you, took time to pick (or make) a card for you, signed it, addressed it, put a stamp on it, and mailed it. When you look at them this way, greeting cards are a tangible representation that someone loves you and cares about you. With our families and friends scattered all over the globe, taking time—making time—to show goodwill to our loved ones is especially important.
Most of the arguments against Christmas cards share a common flaw: they are self-centered and ungrateful. We’re inconvenienced, made poorer, or feel slighted or obligated or harassed or bored. We concentrate on what we get out of sending them and decide it’s not enough to justify the expense. We don’t get good value for our dollar.
Perhaps it might be better to think about the whole Christmas card issue a bit differently.
Even if the ancient Egyptians were sending their papyrus slips at the time, greeting cards are not mentioned in the Bible, but the Christmas story in Luke does provide good justification for them. Poor shepherds got the good news of Jesus' birth first.
And, lo, an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord….” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
After the shepherds visited Jesus, they left and told others the good news of great joy. They shared their joy, spread it around. They weren’t wondering what they would get out of it. They weren’t expecting anything in return for their good news. They weren’t keeping a list of whom they told and who made them joyful in return. They just shared the good will that had been shared with them.
They were thankful and felt compelled to pass it on.
If we, as Christians, are filled with the good will and gratitude of Christmas, we will be more like the shepherds. We will share the good news of great joy without reservation. We know that God is love, that He sent Jesus to give us a new commandment, more important than any other: to love one another. One way to love is to stay connected, to reach out and touch someone far away or close to home, and to say, simply, "Merry Christmas."
How we do this is irrelevant. The phone, e-cards, e-mails, tweets, and Facebook posts certainly get the job done, as does a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" shouted out in person. I'm certainly grateful for all my Merry Christmases, however they come. But for me, anachronistic greeting cards, with their long tradition and the gift of time spent sending them, will always stand out as a tangible and meaningful expression of that love.
How do you plan to share your Merry Christmases this year with gratitude and good will? Please share in the comments!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Advent Devotional: Thankful for Family
"O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 118:1
For this year’s Advent devotionals, I want to focus on gratitude and the Christmas story. For Week 1, let’s take a look at gratitude for family.
Luke tells the Christmas story from Mary’s point of view. When an angel visits Mary and tells of her blessing, he also tells her that her barren relative Elizabeth is six months pregnant. Two miraculous pregnancies at once in one family! What a cause for celebration!
Except that, while Elizabeth’s pregnancy is a late-come answer to long prayers in a long marriage, Mary’s pregnancy is fraught with social peril. Mary is a virgin, betrothed to Joseph, and is expected to stay a virgin until he brings her into his house. The angel only appears to Mary, not her whole community, and the disgrace of a pregnancy for Mary at this time might have ended her life, especially if Joseph chooses to make her disgrace public, as is his right.
Mary is in a very precarious situation, and she knows it. So she leaves home and goes “with haste” to visit Elizabeth, whose unborn son John will prepare the way for Jesus’ adult ministry. Mary and Elizabeth’s meeting is one of my favorite scenes in the Bible.
“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.’”
The Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth in so she knows exactly what is going on. She accepts and welcomes Mary with an outpouring of love and joy. What a safe haven this must have been for Mary, whose great trust in God put her in such a dangerous position within her culture.
The Book of Matthew opens with Jesus’ genealogy back to Abraham, setting the Christmas story firmly into a family context and into the lineage of kings. This list, however, is a bit cold and scholarly, and Matthew immediately jumps into Joseph’s point of view, making the story more personal. Joseph is engaged to Mary, and now she’s pregnant. How embarrassing! Being a kind man, he doesn’t want to disgrace her so he plans to put her aside quietly.
Enter an angel. In a dream, the angel tells Joseph to take Mary because she hasn’t disgraced anyone; the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and he needs an earthly father. Joseph has been chosen to be this father, and he accepts the truth of the dream and becomes a family.
This is what family love is all about: acceptance, welcome, blessing, support, dependability, faith. Sometimes, our earthly families fall short in this, at times spectacularly short. That’s when our own capacity to love and forgive is tested. And sometimes, we fall short in love and forgiveness as well.
But often, our earthly families are sources of unending support and love, a direct channeling of the steadfast love of God. We have a parent or aunt or uncle or grandparent or cousin or sibling or child to whom we can flee “in haste” in times of trouble.
And they leap for joy at our coming.
For this year’s Advent devotionals, I want to focus on gratitude and the Christmas story. For Week 1, let’s take a look at gratitude for family.
Luke tells the Christmas story from Mary’s point of view. When an angel visits Mary and tells of her blessing, he also tells her that her barren relative Elizabeth is six months pregnant. Two miraculous pregnancies at once in one family! What a cause for celebration!
Except that, while Elizabeth’s pregnancy is a late-come answer to long prayers in a long marriage, Mary’s pregnancy is fraught with social peril. Mary is a virgin, betrothed to Joseph, and is expected to stay a virgin until he brings her into his house. The angel only appears to Mary, not her whole community, and the disgrace of a pregnancy for Mary at this time might have ended her life, especially if Joseph chooses to make her disgrace public, as is his right.
Mary is in a very precarious situation, and she knows it. So she leaves home and goes “with haste” to visit Elizabeth, whose unborn son John will prepare the way for Jesus’ adult ministry. Mary and Elizabeth’s meeting is one of my favorite scenes in the Bible.
“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.’”
The Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth in so she knows exactly what is going on. She accepts and welcomes Mary with an outpouring of love and joy. What a safe haven this must have been for Mary, whose great trust in God put her in such a dangerous position within her culture.
The Book of Matthew opens with Jesus’ genealogy back to Abraham, setting the Christmas story firmly into a family context and into the lineage of kings. This list, however, is a bit cold and scholarly, and Matthew immediately jumps into Joseph’s point of view, making the story more personal. Joseph is engaged to Mary, and now she’s pregnant. How embarrassing! Being a kind man, he doesn’t want to disgrace her so he plans to put her aside quietly.
Enter an angel. In a dream, the angel tells Joseph to take Mary because she hasn’t disgraced anyone; the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and he needs an earthly father. Joseph has been chosen to be this father, and he accepts the truth of the dream and becomes a family.
This is what family love is all about: acceptance, welcome, blessing, support, dependability, faith. Sometimes, our earthly families fall short in this, at times spectacularly short. That’s when our own capacity to love and forgive is tested. And sometimes, we fall short in love and forgiveness as well.
But often, our earthly families are sources of unending support and love, a direct channeling of the steadfast love of God. We have a parent or aunt or uncle or grandparent or cousin or sibling or child to whom we can flee “in haste” in times of trouble.
And they leap for joy at our coming.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Good News of Great Joy
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David;) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them. Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luke 2:1-14
Merry Christmas, one and all.
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David;) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them. Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luke 2:1-14
Merry Christmas, one and all.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Balancing Act
This is my fourth Advent post. To read the first three posts, click here, here, and here.
In church this morning, singing the old hymns with a smile on my face and hardly ever looking at the hymnal, I realized how important repetition is to the celebration of Christmas. We repeat the same hymns, make the same cookies and Christmas dinner, read the same Bible verses in the same translation, hang the same ornaments, buy a tree from the same place or put up the same artificial tree, go to the same services, and pray the same prayers. We receive comfort and peace from the annual repetition, but we run the risk of becoming complacent and taking the things we repeat for granted, too.
At my previous church, we sang O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (all verses) every Sunday of Advent—and one Sunday we actually sang it twice. After a few years of this, I came to despise that song and still wince each time I hear it. It killed my Christmas joy and made my heart shrink just like the Grinch’s. Too much of a good thing, and you lose the point of it.
On the other hand, how many times have you heard a Christmas carol performed with a slightly different beat from the traditional version, such as a Muzak version of Joy to the World? What is your reaction? Probably annoyance, if you’re anything like me. Your expectations aren’t met, and disappointment results.
When the shepherds heard the heavenly hosts at the first Christmas, the experience of the Greatest Gift was fresh and new and wholly unexpected. Honestly, who would have thought the old prophesies would be fulfilled by travelers in a stable in an overcrowded town during tax season? I don’t think anybody expected that. Mary and Joseph sure were amazed, and the shepherds marveled at angels speaking to them—lowly and poor and socially scorned—of good news of great joy for all people.
Every year, Christians are called to perform a balancing act at Christmas: to have the comfort and peace of the same old and blessed story, and at the same time to hear that story with fresh ears and hearts as did the shepherds. But we can’t stop there; the shepherds didn’t. To keep Christmas, we also need to share that story with others.
I invite you to share in the comments how you keep Christmas fresh and new in your heart each year. How do traditions actually help you do that? If you’ve become complacent, how can you sing a new song this Christmas and share once again in the good news of great joy?
I’ll go first. Reading Luke 2 in the King James Bible has always felt fresh to me, mainly because I simply don’t read it any other time of year. Since I started using a different translation for Bible study a few years ago, it’s particularly fresh each year. Also, putting out the nativity set my mother made keeps the story fresh for me, especially because Baby Jesus is missing a hand as a result of a little too much love, probably from my cousin Kathy, decades ago. Finally, rather than give to the same charity each year, we mix up our giving.
Now it’s your turn to share!
In church this morning, singing the old hymns with a smile on my face and hardly ever looking at the hymnal, I realized how important repetition is to the celebration of Christmas. We repeat the same hymns, make the same cookies and Christmas dinner, read the same Bible verses in the same translation, hang the same ornaments, buy a tree from the same place or put up the same artificial tree, go to the same services, and pray the same prayers. We receive comfort and peace from the annual repetition, but we run the risk of becoming complacent and taking the things we repeat for granted, too.
At my previous church, we sang O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (all verses) every Sunday of Advent—and one Sunday we actually sang it twice. After a few years of this, I came to despise that song and still wince each time I hear it. It killed my Christmas joy and made my heart shrink just like the Grinch’s. Too much of a good thing, and you lose the point of it.
On the other hand, how many times have you heard a Christmas carol performed with a slightly different beat from the traditional version, such as a Muzak version of Joy to the World? What is your reaction? Probably annoyance, if you’re anything like me. Your expectations aren’t met, and disappointment results.
When the shepherds heard the heavenly hosts at the first Christmas, the experience of the Greatest Gift was fresh and new and wholly unexpected. Honestly, who would have thought the old prophesies would be fulfilled by travelers in a stable in an overcrowded town during tax season? I don’t think anybody expected that. Mary and Joseph sure were amazed, and the shepherds marveled at angels speaking to them—lowly and poor and socially scorned—of good news of great joy for all people.
Every year, Christians are called to perform a balancing act at Christmas: to have the comfort and peace of the same old and blessed story, and at the same time to hear that story with fresh ears and hearts as did the shepherds. But we can’t stop there; the shepherds didn’t. To keep Christmas, we also need to share that story with others.
I invite you to share in the comments how you keep Christmas fresh and new in your heart each year. How do traditions actually help you do that? If you’ve become complacent, how can you sing a new song this Christmas and share once again in the good news of great joy?
I’ll go first. Reading Luke 2 in the King James Bible has always felt fresh to me, mainly because I simply don’t read it any other time of year. Since I started using a different translation for Bible study a few years ago, it’s particularly fresh each year. Also, putting out the nativity set my mother made keeps the story fresh for me, especially because Baby Jesus is missing a hand as a result of a little too much love, probably from my cousin Kathy, decades ago. Finally, rather than give to the same charity each year, we mix up our giving.
Now it’s your turn to share!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Feeling the Joy
This post is #3 in a series of Advent devotionals. To read #2 and for a link to the first, see this post.
For the third week of Advent, I spent a lot of time contemplating joy. Traditionally, joy is the theme for this week, but much of the story of the nativity doesn’t really invite joy, does it? Herod was scared, scary, and dangerous. Mary was pregnant and could have been ordered stoned to death by Joseph; no doubt she endured a lot of scorn and derision from the community and perhaps even her parents. Poor Joseph must have been treated as a cuckold.
And it was tax season. Where is the joy in that?
Well, a few people in the middle of the story knew the truth, and in that truth, there was great joy. Mary tells the angel of the Annunciation, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Can you imagine the faith and trust behind that statement? It always makes me shiver when I read it. Then there’s Elizabeth, Mary's aunt, whose unborn son jumped in her womb with joy in the presence of the pregnant Mary. Their welcome of her prompts Mary to say, “[M]y spirit rejoices in my Savior.” The angels shared “good news of great joy” with the shepherds, and the shepherds passed it on. The three wise men “were filled with joy.”
But every time joy is celebrated, it’s balanced with fear and danger and ominous foreboding. Simeon praises the child Jesus but then tells Mary, “…a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” The wise men visit and give great gifts (one of which was associated with death and embalming), and then Joseph has a dream warning him to flee to Egypt.
And it was tax season. Did I mention that?
Right now, we live in a world where fear and panic and crisis threaten to overwhelm us. We worry about job security, retirement funds, war, mortgages, politics, taxes, and even celebrity infidelity. All of these (well, except the celebrity infidelity) are very real worries for many of us. The story of the nativity, however, is at least in part a story of the joy that comes through faith even when the world is unpleasant or even downright dangerous.
My wish for us all this season and in the coming year is a wish for joy. What gives you joy? How do you find joy when life gets tough? How can you share it with others?
For the third week of Advent, I spent a lot of time contemplating joy. Traditionally, joy is the theme for this week, but much of the story of the nativity doesn’t really invite joy, does it? Herod was scared, scary, and dangerous. Mary was pregnant and could have been ordered stoned to death by Joseph; no doubt she endured a lot of scorn and derision from the community and perhaps even her parents. Poor Joseph must have been treated as a cuckold.
And it was tax season. Where is the joy in that?
Well, a few people in the middle of the story knew the truth, and in that truth, there was great joy. Mary tells the angel of the Annunciation, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Can you imagine the faith and trust behind that statement? It always makes me shiver when I read it. Then there’s Elizabeth, Mary's aunt, whose unborn son jumped in her womb with joy in the presence of the pregnant Mary. Their welcome of her prompts Mary to say, “[M]y spirit rejoices in my Savior.” The angels shared “good news of great joy” with the shepherds, and the shepherds passed it on. The three wise men “were filled with joy.”
But every time joy is celebrated, it’s balanced with fear and danger and ominous foreboding. Simeon praises the child Jesus but then tells Mary, “…a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” The wise men visit and give great gifts (one of which was associated with death and embalming), and then Joseph has a dream warning him to flee to Egypt.
And it was tax season. Did I mention that?
Right now, we live in a world where fear and panic and crisis threaten to overwhelm us. We worry about job security, retirement funds, war, mortgages, politics, taxes, and even celebrity infidelity. All of these (well, except the celebrity infidelity) are very real worries for many of us. The story of the nativity, however, is at least in part a story of the joy that comes through faith even when the world is unpleasant or even downright dangerous.
My wish for us all this season and in the coming year is a wish for joy. What gives you joy? How do you find joy when life gets tough? How can you share it with others?
Saturday, November 28, 2009
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Advent has always been my favorite time in the church calendar. I know, I know. Theologians say our favorite time really should be Easter, with the Resurrection and promise of eternal life through Jesus, but for me Easter celebrates the end of the beginning of the Christian faith. The Christmas story is the beginning of the beginning and sets the tone for what is to come.
What a beginning it is! My heart yearns all year for that celebration. Like John in Elizabeth’s womb, I jump for joy when I see it coming. No matter what difficulties or sorrows or challenges come at me during the year, I have Advent waiting for me at the end.
After my parents divorced when I was little, Advent still came, and I laughed and clapped my hands and sang in joy. The year my grandfather passed, Advent was especially hard, but it still came and comforted me. The year my husband went to war, Advent still came and brought me peace.
This year, I'm mourning my grandmother, and I know that Advent will bring me peace now just as it has before.
Isn’t it amazing what a little baby in a manger can do for us, if we let Him? Advent invites us to focus on our joy in Jesus. It invites us to prepare the way of the Lord, to bubble over with joy and share the good news with all we meet.
In Psalm 30, David sings to the Lord of a joy that prefigures Christmas joy: “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.”
Let’s accept the invitation of Advent. Let’s turn our mourning and sackcloth to dancing and decorations. Let’s be like the angels and the shepherds and share the good news.
Joy to the World! The Lord has come!
What a beginning it is! My heart yearns all year for that celebration. Like John in Elizabeth’s womb, I jump for joy when I see it coming. No matter what difficulties or sorrows or challenges come at me during the year, I have Advent waiting for me at the end.
After my parents divorced when I was little, Advent still came, and I laughed and clapped my hands and sang in joy. The year my grandfather passed, Advent was especially hard, but it still came and comforted me. The year my husband went to war, Advent still came and brought me peace.
This year, I'm mourning my grandmother, and I know that Advent will bring me peace now just as it has before.
Isn’t it amazing what a little baby in a manger can do for us, if we let Him? Advent invites us to focus on our joy in Jesus. It invites us to prepare the way of the Lord, to bubble over with joy and share the good news with all we meet.
In Psalm 30, David sings to the Lord of a joy that prefigures Christmas joy: “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.”
Let’s accept the invitation of Advent. Let’s turn our mourning and sackcloth to dancing and decorations. Let’s be like the angels and the shepherds and share the good news.
Joy to the World! The Lord has come!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)