I love Christmas time. I didn’t always love it. As a pastor, the Advent season turns ones schedule into a chaotic blur of movements and scheduling conflicts. It’s always been a difficult time in terms of balancing the busyness of the season with what it’s really supposed to be about. It’s why the Advent Conspiracy is an idea that has grabbed my attention with such passion. Now, I’m not going to talk about the AC today (there are plenty of other places where you can read about it and see it in action – including the Christ Church Website that has a daily reading through the Advent season). What I want to reflect on today is the reaction that I’ve gotten to the AC this year.
Most of what I’ve heard has been positive – an invitation to really enjoy the season. I’ve watched an entire room full of young moms tear up and feel released to really embrace the joy of the season. I watched one of our Sunday School classes that’s made up of the Builder Generation listen intently to the AC invitation and express excitement about a new possibility. The Young Adults I minister to have been living into the AC for 4 years now and they all speak very highly of the movement.
However, every once in a while, I’ve gotten the negative feedback. One person expressed their dismay and said I was ruining their Christmas by even suggesting the idea of “spending less.” Others have spoken to the message as being “not good for our weak economy.” One person said that I had turned into a Grinch and cared only about church stuff – that one was my favorite.
Upon reflection, all of these statements are pretty funny. If I spend less on gifts but give more time to my family or more money to those in need, I’m doing far more good for the nation then I could ever do by buying my wife one more sweater (one that she’d probably return anyway). Initially, I don’t’ laugh at the reactions. I’ve enjoyed the benefits and possibilities of AC now for 4 years and it’s easy to take criticism of it personally. And it’s that personal reaction that reminds me of what ultimately we’re being asked to do in partaking of AC.
Our entire social order is set up on providing for our loved ones and giving to them what we feel, or are told, is necessary and important for proper life. So, our TV’s tell us that if we love our spouse we’ll buy them a Lexus, or if you love your children you’ll purchase them an Xbox with games that get your family in motion and together, or if you appreciate your Pastor you’ll get him an iPad 2 (hmmm, have to think about that one – haha). All around us are these messages of consume and prove your love. So when a person like myself comes around and says “let’s show love by being with folks and buying them a gift that will really matter for their life” it sounds like an attack on an entire way of life. It’s threatening to be challenged to show love in a way that is foreign to many people.
So, the reaction of “this is stupid and your dumb for making me give up Christmas” is a response that is somewhat understandable. I am stupid for desiring to worship fully, spend less, give more and love all. It’s totally counter-cultural to suggest and encourage people to do this. It’s stupid and countercultural because it’s an idea from a different Kingdom. It’s an idea that, to steal from Pastor and author Mike Slaughter, invites us to remember that it’s not our birthday we’re celebrating, but Jesus’. And his birth came in a place of poverty and was a gift to the whole world – an offering of reconciliation and peace toward all.
My favorite criticism was that I hated Christmas and was a grinch. I believe Dr. Seuss was a prophet – he spoke to a lot of different concerns in a country about as divided as it can be. His character of the Grinch is one of the seasons most beloved individuals and his turn from small heart to huge heart is beautiful. But his conversion isn’t the only conversion that occurs in the story. The live version of the Grinch that Stole Christmas shows the struggle of little Cindy Lou Who’s attempt to see that Christmas is more than presents and outdoing someone else’s giving. The conversion of the entire city around the burned out tree and aftermath of the Grinch’s midnight ride is fantastic. What’s funny is that Grinch and Cindy Lou Who’s complaint is more about the very things that AC is inviting us to rebel against. The Grinching isn’t about stopping the celebration of Christmas, but of actually enjoying what Christmas is for.
I love Christmas today more than I ever have. I look forward to the celebration of each Sunday of Advent of watching candles get lit and of hearing carols sung. In many ways, I’m far less Grinchy as a result of choosing to adopt the AC. I’m also more willing to see why it’s a struggle and to be reminded that this is an invitation to a different kind of Kingdom – a different way of life and focus. Wherever you are on the spectrum, I want you to know that today, I’m praying for you. I’m praying that you will know the full joy of this season. I’m praying that you’ll sense the overwhelming joy of slowing down and finding that a baby born 2000 years ago is still able to change the world. I pray that you’ll be able to find time – to stop the busyness – and rejoice. I hope you’re heart will grow to sizes or more this season. I pray that you and I will know that the best gift was given so that we might extend His Peace to all on the earth.
Happy Advent!
