Giving the Unexpected

Shortly after arriving at Guildwood, I was making the rounds of parishioners' homes, getting to know the lay of the land. I visited one couple, both now in heaven; it must have been November 1992, not too much earlier than this time of year. They kindly invited me inside and placed the obligatory cup of tea in my hands. "Getting an early start on Christmas?" I asked, by way of making conversation.

Their living room was, you see, all decked out with tree, tinsel, mangers, lights, garland, even boughs of holly. They looked at each other for a moment before responding. "No, no. Truth is, we like the decorations so much, we decided to leave them up.

I tried to process this piece of information in all kinds of different ways, but could only come up with one conclusion. "You mean you've left everything up since last Christmas?"

Another pause, another silent look. "Actually, since about four Christmases ago, now."

"Very festive," I said, wondering how disorienting it must be to visit them in the heat of July. Maybe kind of refreshing, actually.

Now I don't tell this story to make fun of this couple, who were wonderful, generous and kind, and God bless them both. Actually, our society seems to be taking their lead, extending the Christmas season ever-earlier.

November 1, I heard my first Christmas song, filtering through from a TV commercial. I'm not sure when the Sears Christmas Catalogue came, but it was probably earlier than that. There have already been Christmas lights lit on Sylvan Avenue. And I could stand hear and gripe and moan about how Christmas is wrecked by such over-early exposure, how it has become a marathon, a test of our tolerance, a season to be endured rather than enjoyed.

But you know, I'm tired of griping. And I realise my griping hasn't made the slightest difference. So, today, November 20, 2005, I want to give you the first Christmas sermon of the season. I want to talk about the big concept behind the actual, original, by-gosh-did-it-really-happen-that-way Christmas story, and that is the principle of "Unexpected Reversal."

Think about the story.
God decides to intrude, big time, on the world and its brokeness and pain. Not from a distant, aloof heaven; not through us climbing a mountain to meditate ourselves into another reality. No, the Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise decides to take the initiative, and come right here to us.
Unexpected.
And he decides to do so in the form of a man.
No, wait, in the form of a baby.
A vulnerable, tiny, baby.
Big God, little baby.
Reversal.

Whom does God choose as the vessel of such a miracle?
A queen?
A movie star?
A warrior princess?
No, a young, vulnerable, poor, second-class citizen in occupied Israel - a nobody from nowhere named Mary. Not even her name was special; of the half-dozen or so women talked about at any length in the Gospels, three are named Mary. But that's who God picks. "Unexpected Reversal."

Now Mary may be just a wee slip of a humble young lady, but she's no fool. She knows an unexpected reversal when she sees one. The song she sings lets us know that loud and clear:

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." (Luke 1:46-55)

The proud? Scattered.
The servant? Remembered.
Rulers? Brought down.
Humble? Lifted up.
Rich? Empty.
Hungry? Filled.
You get the idea that she must have taught Jesus this song, because a lot of it gets into the Sermon on the Mount, another great song of Unexpected Reversal.

You know the rest of the Christmas story.
Where is the baby born?
In a palace?
A fortress?
In luxury and safety and cleanliness and warmth?
Nope - a poor town.
A lonely hillside.
A stable.
The visitors? Shepherds and Wise Men.
Who gets there first? Smelly old shepherds. To whom do the angels sing the song of praise and peace?
Shepherds again.
The wise men - what do they do?
They tell the homicidal maniac Herod that they're in his territory to visit the infant rival to his throne.
Wise? Not very. At least the Magi dropped off the gifts before they beat their hasty retreat.

I could go on, and I often do, but let's be content with these few examples to prove the point that the Christmas story has at its core the concept of Unexpected Reversal, the principle of going completely against societal and cultural expectation. And what I'm going to propose to you today is an Unexpected Reversal that strikes right at the very beating core of societal expectation surrounding Christmas.

Let me put it to you as clearly as I can: Christmas is not about buying presents for everyone you know. Our North American societal expectation is precisely that, but the Christmas Story has nothing to do with spending big money on buying presents for everyone you know.

This realisation hit a certain Canadian man pretty hard one year. Let me share with you a bit of his story, with the help of journalist Douglas Todd:

Aiden Enns, is a Mennonite on a mission.
The founder of Buy Nothing Christmas is encouraging everyone, particularly spiritual people, to return to their roots this season -- and, instead of celebrating commercialism, mark the birth of a man who taught the wealthy to scale down their opulent lives.

Enns' mini-movement, which is drawing media attention from all over North America and Europe, says: "Instead of asking, 'What would Jesus do?' we ask 'What would Jesus give?'"

Enns, though charming, would not be a popular fellow in my house, with three teenagers. My wife and I are again fuelling the economy and trying to satisfy our children's yearnings this Christmas, spending about the Canadian average on gifts, which is about $724 per adult.

Buy Nothing Christmas (BuyNothingChristmas.org) is trying to nudge families like ours.
Disturbingly, Enns points to polls showing one out of three North Americans actually throw Christmas gifts into the garbage, while the average North American spends six months paying off winter holiday credit-card debt. Enns and his cross-country band of activists believe Christians should give loved ones something more meaningful than power drills, video games and CD players.

Enns and his wife, who don't have children, give home-made presents and their time (for baby-sitting, movie-going, etc.) to their 18 nieces and nephews. He knows it's hard to resist consumer demands, especially of young people.

"Our precious children, with their normal vulnerability to peer pressure, their desire to fit in, and their disposable income, or ability to influence their parents' spending -- are a mini-battlefield for the marketers and branding machinery," he says.

In the face of an advertising onslaught to get kids "needing" the latest gizmos and gadgets, Enns asks parents, especially those who are religious, to try to teach their children the value of a non-commercial Christmas. "You can have a special time without buying a lot of stuff."

Enns and a group of Mennonite friends in Vancouver took out a full-page ad in Canadian Mennonite magazine that read,

• Uh oh we're in the red, dear; On our credit card it shows
• Christmas is almost over; But the debit line still grows
• Shopping like Santa's zombies; Sent our budget down in flames
• But all our Christmas spirit; Helped the giant retail chains
• I'm so foggy Christmas Eve; Wondering how we'll pay
• Christmas doesn't seem so bright; When our finances are tight
• So here's a plan for next year; Let's forget the shopping spree
• Let's give a gift of love, so; All our Christmas gifts are free

OK, so maybe you're wondering what you can do in response.
What can you give this Christmas?
Here's some suggestions from the website:

• Buy a used book and on the inside cover explain why you chose that title for that person.
• Purchase gifts at a fair trade shop, garage sale or thrift shop.
• For elderly people in your life, research newspaper and magazine articles from their youth and present them in a creative fashion.
• Make a calendar with pictures of family members and scenery.
• Wrap gifts in newspaper, maps, scarves or interesting clothing.
• Fill an old trunk or suitcase with fun clothing, hats and gaudy jewellery for children to play dress-up.
• Give away a valued possession.
• Make a mixed cassette tape or CD and choose songs that make you think of that person. Under each title, explain why you chose that song.
• Frame a piece of your artwork.
• Fill a basket with homemade goodies.
• Bake your favourite holiday treat and pack it in a recycled tin.
• Videotape and interview your elderly parents about childhood memories, how they met etc. and give to siblings or children.
• Create coupons for a massage, spring cleaning, child-minding, manicure, etc.

Don't have time for such creativity?
Well, in the Rollwage household, we're pretty excited about the World Vision gift catalogue (www.worldvision.ca). You can, in your own name or in the name of another, donate gifts to needy families around the world: a pair of ducks, two hens and a rooster, mosquito nets, rabbits, blankets, clean water systems, a piglet, a goat, a dairy cow - hundreds of ideas, from a few dollars to hundreds. World Vision will send a card to whomever you designate as the one in whose name the gift was given.
You can, of course, do the same through donating in another's name to Presbyterian World Service and Development, or hey, even the boiler fund.

The point is, you can get off the bandwagon of the thirty billion Canadian dollars of consumer spending at Christmas, the vast majority of which, I venture to say, was spent on things neither needed nor wanted. You can buy into the Unexpected Reversal of the original Christmas, and touch someone's life with thoughtful love.

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever... Amen.

Responsive Reading

All: O God, in the fullness of time you sent your son Jesus in a manner that confounded kings yet moved shepherds and magi. Guide us now as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace.

One: As we make our family plans for Advent and Christmas,

All: We commit to hold central the one whose birth we celebrate.

One: As we feel the pressure to buy and buy and buy,

All: We commit to resist our temptations to find you in material things.

One: As we consider all of the waste generated in our celebrations,

All: We commit to set limits on what we will consume and throw away.

One: As our plans do not include those who are hungry, sick, lonely and imprisoned,

All: We commit to seek you in the spirit of humility.

One: As we make our Christmas lists for family and friends,

All: We commit to remember our reason to celebrate.

All: O God, forgive us when we forget who you are and why you have come. As we prepare for the Prince of Peace to be born in our midst, help us to bring peace to a troubled world and people. As the shepherds and magi looked for you in a stable, let us look for you among those you came to serve. Amen.