Christmas Giving

This past week, Paul and I put up our Christmas tree. And, as is probably the case at your house, it involved going down into the basement, rifling through assorted cardboard boxes, and bringing them up to the living room.

Then, the ornaments, and decorations are carefully unwrapped, from their brown and yellow newspaper and various tissue papers. A few, here and there, so it seems every year, get broken along the way. And then, it's time to decorate the tree, and decorate the house.

My friend of mine was reflecting on this tradition with me this week. And he had this to say about it:

"Look through the 'XMAS' box and you'll find the littlest angel mingling with Santa's elves and a herd of reindeer being led by the shepherd boy. Santa and Mary and Joseph stretch after a year of confinement and lay together there on the floor wondering where they will spend their Christmas this year. Will it be the mantle again or will it be the coffee table?

But, there is one figure you will not find in your box of Christmas treasures - John the Baptist. Even though John the Baptist comes every Advent season to help you prepare for Christmas, you don't find a porcelain figure of John, clothed with, 'a garment of camel's hair and a leather girdle around his waist,' in your nativity set."

That's so true! Had you ever stopped to think about that before? During the season of Advent, the stories about John the Baptist invariably reoccur every year. You can count on it: come to church during Advent, and you re likely to hear a story about John the Baptist. John the Baptist comes around every year in the lectionary, just like today.

But have you ever seen a "John the Baptist" figurine in your nativity set? Have you ever seen "John the Baptist" tree ornaments? Have you driven past houses, decorated with reams of Christmas lights, and life-sized wooden cut outs on the front lawn, and exclaimed: "Hey look, there's John the Baptist, right next to that Elf!"?

I'll bet not. And yet, in the life of the Church, John the Baptist is an important figure in the season of Advent. And this year, John's story shows up twice in the four week period of Advent. You will remember that last week, we learned about how John the Baptist was preaching out in the Wilderness." And we remember how people were coming from great distances to see him. This week, we read in the scripture about what John the Baptist says to all those who are coming to see him.

John the Baptist, out there in the Wilderness, was preparing the hearts and minds of the people for the coming of the Messiah, just as we --now two weeks from Christmas-- are preparing our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus.

John says to the crowd: "Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

John tells the people that the Messiah is near...just around the corner. Perhaps only a few of weeks from being revealed. And the people have an interesting reaction. Instead than gnashing their teeth, and cursing their luck, they simply ask John one question: "What should we do?"

Not only the crowd, but also tax collectors come to him, and they ask the same question: "What should we do?"

And then, so also come some soldiers to John, and they also ask the same question: "What should we do?"

And by the third time, you know this is not some coincidence. Luke is too good a story teller to tell the story this way just by chance. The situation is clear: Jesus is on the way! John has said so. And the question for all is clear: "What shall we do!?"

In reply, John does not tell them to hoard a bunch of food, and wait for the end of time. He does not tell them to go into a twenty-four hour a day, week-long prayer vigil. He does not tell them to quit their jobs and sit on the couch, waiting for the next "sign."

To the crowds, John says: "If you have two coats, and somebody else just has one...then give her the coat you're not using . . . . the same with your food too."

The time of waiting for the Messiah, John says, is not a passive time of simply sitting on one's hands and praying a lot of prayers. The time of waiting for the coming of the Messiah is a time of giving and sharing.

It's commonly held that our tradition of giving Christmas gifts comes from the so-called "Wise Men," who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. But it seems to me that you can argue that it is actually John the Baptist who first comes up with the idea of Christmas giving.

I was in the mall a few days ago and stood, watching the children waiting to see Santa Claus. The scene at Santa's hangout at the mall was pretty typical. There were a couple of hundred kids and parents, who first sat down for a "story time" with Santa, and then dutifully got in line to meet the man. Everyone gets a ticket with a specific time printed on it, and so you have to wait about 20 minutes before your time. The rest of the time, you just walk around the mall, shopping, looking at the penguins and the like.

Santa at the mall is quite good with the children. I don't know if you've ever been there to watch him work, but no matter how old you are, he will have you believing before he is done.

But after standing there watching Santa Claus in the mall, I thought: What a strange custom we ve developed with our children around the holiday of Christmas! What I mean is, that we have developed a strange ritual around Christmas. And I think you know what I mean, because you've done it yourself a thousand times. You've been in the presence of a small child around Christmastime, and you've asked that child the question: "So, Billy, what are you going to get for Christmas?² There are variations on the question: ³What are Mommy and Daddy getting you?² ³What do you want from Santa Claus?² Santa himself even asks a variation of this question of all children who spend time on his lap.

In one sense, this tradition is not strange at all. Because Christmas is a magical time, or at least it should be, for all children. And we who are adults can remember glimmers of what it was like to be in their shoes, filled with all the excitement, anticipation and wonder. And so, we want to catch some sense of that with them . . . . we want to play some small part in making it magical for them.

But in another sense, the whole question "What do you want to get for Christmas?" is a strange one, indeed. Especially if we remember the witness of John the Baptist . . . especially if we remember the witness of those "Wise Men" who first brought gifts to Jesus. Because, when we remember this witness of scripture, what we learn again is that Christmas is not at all about getting. Christmas is about giving. Christmas is about God giving God's only Son to the world. Christmas is about John giving a Word to the people that the Messiah is at hand. Christmas is about our giving to others . . . not of duty, obligation, or tradition . . . but because the very coming of God into the world is a gift such that we ourselves want, of our own free will, to pass on to others.

And so, I have two challenges for you all today. The first is this: when you are talking to the children in your life --whether they are seven, seventy, or somewhere in between-- do not ask them "What are you getting for Christmas this year?" And them instead: "What are you giving for Christmas this year?"

The second challenge is for you to consider in your own life what you will give for Christmas this year. In my family, each year, we still make Christmas lists of things we want to get. (It really helps us all do streamlined and effective shopping). But what I am challenging you to do today is to make a list of what you will give for Christmas. There are many, many ways to give for Christmas. And there is a whole "counter-movement" standing against the mindless giving of consumer goods, and for giving instead true gifts that reflect the Spirit of the season.

For example, I still recall the story of Danny and his boss. Danny was a member of one of the United Methodist churches in this area. He worked for a large communications company, and would always talk about his ruthless, uncaring boss. She was a real workaholic. She worked too much herself, and she demanded it of her underlings too. She had no outside interests besides work, and no family in town to speak of. She hardly ever gave out praise. She was hardly ever "pleased" by anything anyone in the office did.

One Christmas, Danny's boss made no bones about dropping hints around the office about the things she wanted. But Danny listened to none of her suggestions. Instead, his gift to her was a small card. And when she opened that card at the staff Christmas party, what was written inside was this: "For your present this year, a donation has been made in your name to Lighthouse Missions of Pontiac."

As Danny told the story, there was a slight pause as his boss read the card. And then, she boss did something Danny had never seen her do before or since. She cried.

The important thing to remember that it isn't what you get for Christmas that is important. Certainly, this Christmas, there will be a lot of getting. But, remember that the most important question is this one: "What will you give for Christmas?"

When John the Baptist came, two thousand years ago, he challenged the people to get ready for the Messiah. His words shoot across the centuries, and straight into this chapel today. He challenges us, as well, to get ready for the coming of Jesus.

And his challenge is something like a popular t-shirt that you have perhaps seen. It simply says: "Jesus is Coming. Look Busy!"

But let's not just look busy . . . . Let's be busy. Listen to the words of John, words for all of us who await the Christ: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight . . . Bear fruits worthy of repentance . . . .Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."

When we share as John invites us to do, we share in preparing for the coming of Christ. We share in the truest sense of Christmas giving.	Amen.