Blessed are the entitled? - Clover Sites



Week 1 [activities] discussion questionsp. 1Advent readingp. 2Also read Luke 1:1-80Week 2 [Advent] discussion questionsp. 16O Come Let Us Adore Himp. 17Also read Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 1:18 – 2:12Week 3 [Worship] discussion questionsp. 18St. Nicholas: What can I say, he was a beastp. 19The Christmas Conundrump. 21Blessed are the Entitiled?p. 28Week 4 [Secular v. Religious Christmas] discussion questionsp. 30Mary, the Mother of Godp. 31Week 5 [Celebrating Christ’s birth all year round] p. 34 discussion questionsWeek 1ACTIVITIESOpening question: Share your name and tell the group about one of your favorite Christmas traditionsDiscussion:What extra activities to you do in the season leading up to and surrounding Christmas? (as your group discusses this, jot down all the things you do)Take a look at your list. Circle the things you REALLY enjoy. Put a square around the things you really DO NOT enjoy. Share these discoveries with your group. How can you do more of what you enjoy?Can you cut some things out completely?Discuss ways to do more of what you love and less of what you don’t. Ask… is there a way to transform the things you do so that you enjoy them more (for instance, I have found that taking time to pray for every person on my extensive Christmas card list as I address the envelopes has turned a tedious task I used to do in front of the television into a time to be grateful for friends and family and to lift them up before God)What would you like your Christmas season to be? How would you like to feel? (think of several words, such as joyful, praise-filled, wonder-filled, family focused, etc.) Put a star next to the activities on your list that meet that criteria. Are there things you’d like to be doing that you aren’t doing? Write them down.Change is scary. It’s hard to break habits and family traditions. What do you think will be most difficult to change? What will you resist the most? What will your family resist the most?Think and pray about this list over the time of this study. Talk with your family and friends about the traditions you want to keep, the changes you want to make, the things you want to consider scrapping altogether. Add things to the list as you learn and explore.For next week: Read Luke 1:1-80 and the series on Advent by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is Advent? An Introduction to AdventWhat is Advent?Introduction to AdventHow Can Advent Make A Difference in Your Relationship with God?by Rev. Dr. Mark D. RobertsCopyright ? 2011 by Mark D. Roberts and 0000Discovering Advent:How to Experience the Power of Waiting on God at ChristmastimeMy e-book on Advent is now available:Kindle edition – $2.99Nook edition – $2.99My writing on Advent, fully refreshed, with new stories, illustrations, and applications. Includes an Advent Devotional Guide using an Advent wreath.The Advent of AdventThis coming Sunday is the first day of Advent. If you’ve been reading my blog for more than a year, you know that I generally make a big deal out of Advent. If you’re new to my blog, however, you may wonder why I bother. My goal in this post is to explain what Advent is. My next post in this series will make the case for taking Advent seriously.When is Advent?Advent is a season in the Christian year that lasts for about four weeks. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve, thus there is some variation in its length. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of Christian seasons, you might find helpful a series I’ve written called: Introduction to the Christian Year. I should mention that Eastern Orthodox Christians do not recognize Advent per se, but have a longer season that is rather like Advent. Their Nativity Fast begins in the middle of November and is a season for repentance and abstinence.In our secular American celebration of Christmas, the Christmas season (or holiday season, ugh) begins in the weeks prior to Christmas Day. Generally, this season starts in early December, though retailers have a bad habit of beginning Christmas in November (or even October). In my rule book, you shouldn’t listen to Christmas music or turn on Christmas lights until after you’ve finished the Thanksgiving turkey . . . at the earliest. Of course outside of my immediate family, nobody follows my rules . . . especially retailers.So Advent overlaps with what is usually thought of in American culture as the Christmas season. But its beginning and ending are well defined, and its themes are quite a bit different from what is commonly associated with secular Christmas celebrations.What is Advent?The Christian season of Christmas actually begins on Christmas Eve and lasts for twelve days, ending on January 6. (No, the twelve-day season of Christmas did not start with the song. It was the other way around.) The time before Christmas is Advent, a season of preparation for Christmas. Christians prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus by remembering the longing of the Jews for a Messiah. In Advent, we’re reminded of how much we ourselves also need a Savior, and we look forward to our Savior’s second coming even as we prepare to celebrate his first coming at Christmas. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “visit.” In the season with this name, we keep in mind both “advents” of Christ, the first in Bethlehem and the second yet to come.-51435762000If you’re unfamiliar with Advent, I expect it might feel odd to think of the weeks before Christmas as something more than Christmastime. For most of my life, Advent played very little role in my pre-Christmas consciousness. As a child, I did have Advent calendars: sturdy, decorative paper displays with 25 little “windows,” one of which I would open each day of December leading up to Christmas. Sometimes Advent calendars are made of wood and feature twenty-five little boxes, each containing some little treasure (see photo). My Advent calendar was a way to whet my appetite for Christmas, not that I needed much help to get ready for my favorite day of the year, mind you.I loved Christmas when I was young, partly because it celebrated the birth of Jesus, but mostly because it was a giant party in which I received lots of presents. In a sense, the Christian observance is a bit like my boyhood Advent calendars, though it has a much more serious purpose. It’s meant to get us ready, not for a present-opening party, but for a transformational celebration of the birth of Jesus.What Colors Are Used in Advent? [ed note: Lutherans use the color blue]0381000My Advent wreath at home, after the fourth Sunday of Advent and before Christmas. This Advent wreath combines purple and pink candles for Advent, with a white candle for Christmas, with the greenery we associate with secular Christmas celebrations.There are a few other things about Advent, besides its themes, that you might find odd if you’re unfamiliar with the season. The strangest might be the Advent color scheme. We associate Christmas and the weeks leading up to it with typical Christmas colors: red, green, white, silver, and gold. Advent, on the other hand, features purple (or dark blue) and pink. The purple/blue color signifies seriousness, repentance, and royalty. Pink points to the minor theme of Advent, which is joy. For many observers of Advent, the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent are “purple/blue” Sundays. Only the third is a “pink” Sunday. The pink, joyful color reminds us that, even as Advent helps us get in touch with our sober yearning for God to come to us, we know that he did in fact come in the person of Jesus.Thus, our major-theme of waiting has a grace note of joy mixed in. If you’ve seen a traditionally-colored Advent wreath will recognize the purple and pink colors of this season (with the central, white, Christ-candle for Christmas Eve/Day). But if you’re unfamiliar with Advent and happen to attend a church service in early December in a church that recognizes Advent, you might be startled to see lots of purple, a bit of pink, and no red or green. (Many churches combine the colors of Advent and Christmas, however, so visitors won’t be completely perplexed. Advent purists don’t approve of such a mix, but I think we need to be gracious in our response to the Advent traditions of others. )Advent’s Growing PopularityAdvent doesn’t get much attention compared to Christmas, though interest in Advent is growing steadily in many churches and in many Christian homes. That’s not to say everybody is an “Adventophile,” a lover of Advent, however. Some Protestants ignore Advent because it isn’t taught in Scripture and because they associate it with Roman Catholicism. Secular culture ignores Advent because there isn’t much money to be made here. I suppose you might be able to make a few bucks selling purple and pink candles, but this isn’t going to thrill most retailers.I think, however, there are lots of good reasons to pay more attention to Advent, however. I’ll begin to explore these in my next post in this series.Advent Devotional Guide: Preparing for the Coming of ChristI have written a devotional guide for Advent. It is based on Scripture, and is meant to be used with an Advent wreath. This devotional is simple and can be used in families with young children. It can also be adapted for other uses, such as Advent-themed worship services or personal devotions. You are welcome to download the Advent Devotional Guide and use it as you see fit. I First Learned About AdventIn yesterday’s post, I explained the timing and purpose of Advent, as well as its unexpected color scheme. I closed by noting that Advent is growing in popularity, especially among Protestant Christians who, in many cases, did not grow up with much awareness of Advent. Liturgically sophisticated Protestants, such as Lutherans and Episcopalians, generally are familiar with Advent, but many have just the slightest understanding of this season. For most of my life, I fell into that category. Though, as I noted in my last post, I enjoyed paper Advent calendars in my youth, I did not think of Advent as a season of the Christian year. In fact, I had no idea that Christians even had a year with special seasons. At the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood where I grew up, we celebrated Christmas and Easter, and that was about it. The weeks of December prior to Christmas were Christmastime, not of FormBottom of FormWhen I was a teenager, Lloyd Ogilvie came as Senior Pastor of Hollywood Pres. He brought with him the tradition of using an Advent wreath in worship services prior to Christmas. Though we continued to sing Christmas carols and decorate the sanctuary with Christmas colors, Dr. Ogilvie did, however, speak of Advent as a season of preparation for Christmas. Still, I thought of Advent mostly as Christmas-lite, and not as a distinct season with distinct emphases.While I was preparing for ordination in the Presbyterian Church, I took a course in “polity” (church order) at Fuller Theological Seminary. The professor, Dr. Gary Demarest, lectured on a section of the PC(USA) Book of Order that focused on worship. In this lecture, he spoke with zeal about the “Church Year” and its various seasons. These included: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. Dr. Demarest talked excitedly about how the seasons of the Church Year could enrich the worship of a church as well as one’s private devotions. I had never heard anything like this. I was intrigued, but didn’t do much with what I learned at that time. I was serving on the staff at Hollywood Pres, where we continued to use an Advent wreath in our pre-Christmas worship services, but otherwise didn’t do much with Advent.My first full exposure to Advent came when I began as Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in 1991. It started with a complaint, of all things. Funny how that happens in church! Sometime in November, a member of the church came to me to let me know how unhappy she was that “Loren doesn’t let us sing Christmas carols until Christmas Eve.” I asked why Loren, our worship director at the time, had this peculiar proscription. “Because he’s into Advent,” the woman explained. “He wants to sing only Advent songs during Advent.”What I heard about Loren seemed odd to me for many reasons, partly because I could only think of two Advent hymns: “Come, Though Long Expected Jesus” and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” It was hard to imagine four weeks of nothing but these songs, as wonderful as they might be.When I talked with Loren, I learned that the complaint I had heard was only partly true. Apparently, in years past, Loren had virtually outlawed Christmas music during Advent. He had reserved the beloved carols for Christmas Eve and the twelve-day season of Christmas that ended on January 6. But when many people in the congregation let Loren know how much they missed singing Christmas carols prior to Christmas, he relented. Now his plan was to start Advent with music that was Advent-themed, and slowly include Christmas carols in the Sundays prior to Christmas. A few carols, however, like “Joy to the World,” were reserved for Christmas Eve and thereafter. (This was ironic, because “Joy to the World” was not actually written as a Christmas carol!)As I spoke with Loren, reassured that he wasn’t banning Christmas music altogether before Christmas Eve, I listened to his passion for Advent and the possibilities of our worship and devotional life being enriched by observing this season. I was excited by the potential and eager to experience a more intentional and complete Advent season.During my first Advent at Irvine Presbyterian Church, I did find it odd to sing relatively few Christmas carols before Christmas Eve. And I did find much of the Advent music to be unfamiliar. We used the Advent wreath in worship, with its expressions of expectation and hope. Though I missed some of what I had always associated with the build up to Christmas, I found that Advent did indeed heighten my yearning for the coming of Christ, and it did indeed help me to experience Christmas in a deeper way.Christmas of 1991, my first at Irvine Presbyterian Church, was the beginning of my becoming an Adventophile . . . an Advent lover.Why I am an “Adventophile”In my last post in this series, I told the story of my Advent beginnings. When I started out as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in 1991, for the first time in my life, I began to see Advent as a distinct season of the year and to experience its richness. Before too long I turned out to be an “Adventophile” – a lover of Advent. Let me explain why.The Advent wreath of Irvine Presbyterian ChurchIn the years following my Advent beginnings, my appreciation of Advent grew slowly and steadily. At some point, I became aware of the purple and pink Advent color scheme, something we had not previously emphasized at Irvine Presbyterian Church. I remember when, sometime in the 1990s, we started using three purple and one pink candle in the church Advent wreath. It was a change for church members, who had been used to all white candles. Of course a few people made sure I knew they missed the “beautiful white candles.” But soon our whole church appreciated the connotations of the colors.At some point, I decided to go “whole hog” with Advent colors one year. I wore purple ties during Advent. I put up an “Advent tree” in my office at church, which could be seen from the busy street in front of the church. I didn’t outlaw the use of Christmas colors in our sanctuary or anything like that, though our paraments (cloth decorations) on the communion table and pulpit were purple. I’m sure some folks thought I’d lost a few of my marbles in my zeal for Advent colors, but, for me, it was a chance to emphasize Advent in my personal life as well as in my ministry.Why did Advent matter so much to me? Why had I come to love this season that was generally ignored? Among many reasons, two stand out. First, I found that observing Advent enriched my celebration of Christmas. Taking four weeks to focus on the hope of Christ’s coming made me much more joyful when I finally got to celebrate it. The more I got in touch with my need for a Savior, the more I rejoiced at the Savior’s birth.Second, I found in Advent a solution to the age-old problem of secular Christmas vs. spiritual Christmas. If you’re a Christian, you know what I mean. We recognize that Christmas is, most of all, a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s a holiday that focuses on the meaning of the Incarnation. Yet, given the secular traditions of Christmas, we spend most of our time preparing, not for a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but for fulfilling the demands of the season. We have to buy lots of presents for lots of people and make sure they are all wrapped and delivered. We have parties to attend and parties to host. We have relatives who come to visit or, alternatively, we are the relatives who go elsewhere to visit. This requires lots of planning, not to mention the energy required for holiday travel. We have to send out Christmas cards, making sure our addresses are right and that they get on all the envelopes. If we have younger children, we may very well spend hours trying to assemble gifts that come with sketchy instructions written by someone for whom English is, at best, a third language. And so on, and so on, and so on.Meanwhile, we hear our Christian leaders telling us that we’re spending too much time and money in secular celebrations and not focusing enough on the real meaning of Christmas. Religious posters proclaim: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” But, in fact, Jesus faces heavy competition from retailers, relatives, and revelers. So what’s a Christian to do?In my idealistic twenties, I thought about downsizing my celebrations of Christmas. At one point I tried to convince some friends and family members that we should make Christmas an entirely “spiritual” holiday, one in which we focus only on the birth of Jesus. Not wanting to be the Grinch, however, I didn’t abandon secular festivities or gift giving. “Let’s do that stuff on New Year’s Eve,” I argued. “Not only is this holiday very close to Christmas, but also, if we give gifts on New Year’s, we’ll be able to shop in the post-Christmas sales and that will save a lot of money.” Ah, what persuasive logic! But nobody was persuaded, least of all my family members. The secular and familial Christmas traditions were too embedded in our lives and, I might add, greatly loved. So I abandoned my effort to de-secularize Christmas. (In retrospect, I rather think I wouldn’t have liked doing what I proposed. I too, you see, am a lover of Christmas traditions.)As I entered my thirties, I tried to emphasize the Christian aspects of Christmas in the days leading up to the holiday. But I seemed to be fighting a losing battle. I needed some way to focus my mind and heart. And I needed some new traditions that would help me. Then I discovered Advent. For some reason, observing Advent during December helped me to draw near to God in a way that I had not been able to do before. I still engaged in the secular celebrations of Christmas, happily so, I might add. But I also added several new practices that tuned my heart to resonate with the deeper meaning of the coming of Christ.I know that many others have had a similar experiences to mine. Since 2004 I have been blogging about Advent. During the past six years I have received dozens of emails from people who have shared their own excitement for Advent. Some have grown up with Advent traditions. Most have “discovered” Advent later in life, much as I did. All have found that observing Advent enriches their celebration of Christmas and allows them to have a precious, peaceful, God-focused experience during what is often a hectic holiday season.In my next post I’ll describe some of the Advent practices that I have found to be most helpful.Growing Closer to God in Advent: Some Practical SuggestionsSo far in this series I’ve explained what Advent is and why I have found it helpful to observe Advent. If you’re at all convinced, you may wonder what to do about it. In this post and the next in this series I’ll outline some practical suggestions for how you might experience Advent. Pay Attention to the Advent Content of Corporate WorshipIf your church celebrates Advent, be ready to pay close attention to the readings, prayers, songs, and seasonal pageantry (like the lighting of the Advent wreath). Your intentionality in worship can infuse your whole life with Advent expectation.Many churches, even if they don’t plunge into the depths of Advent, nevertheless wade into Advent themes in their pre-Christmas worship. They use readings from the Old Testament prophets or sing Advent carols like “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The more you pay attention to these Advent elements, the more your personal experience will be enriched.If your church doesn’t acknowledge Advent, you may decide to talk with your pastor or worship leader about it. But, please, be kind and encouraging! Throughout my years as a parish pastor, I found it much easier to receive “Here’s something I find exciting!” than “Here’s what you’re doing wrong!”Enjoy Advent MusicThis isn’t quite as easy as it sounds, unfortunately. There are hundreds of popular Christmas songs and carols, played everywhere during Advent, from churches, to gas stations and shopping malls. There are comparatively few Advent songs, though many songs and carols do touch upon Advent themes of waiting, hoping, and yearning for God.If you enjoy classical music, there are a few Advent albums available, including:Advent at St. Paul’s. This is my current favorite of the bunch.An Advent Procession Based on the Great “O” AntiphonsAdvent Carols from St. John’sBach: Advent Cantatas The first part of the so-called “Christmas portion” Handel’s Messiah is filled with Advent themes (from the beginning through “The People That Walked in Darkness”). This is probably the most readily available and familiar classical Advent music. My favorite recording of the Messiah is the Academy of Ancient Music version conducted by Christopher Hogwood.If you’re looking for more contemporary Advent music, you’ll have to look pretty hard. There just isn’t much out there that is specifically focused on Advent and its themes. I have found one more contemporary Advent CD. Actually, it combines Advent music with Lenten music. Prepare the Way of the Lord by David Phillips contains 18 instrumental tracks, half dedicated to Advent, the other half dedicated to Lent. This is a wonderful collection of music by an accomplished Christian pianist. You can purchase the CD from Amazon, or you can download an MP3 version from David Phillips’ website.In the past few years, I have come to enjoy listening to instrumental versions of Christmas hymns and carols during Advent. I save the Christmas lyrics for later on. My favorite recordings are by Jeff Johnson and his collaborators. Some of Jeff’s renditions appeared on Windham Hill collections in the past. Jeff has several Christmas albums. My favorite is A Quiet Knowing Christmas. Its simplicity and elegance helps draw me close to God. You can purchase Jeff’s marvelous Christmas music from his website, from iTunes, or from Amazon.Use an Advent Wreath in Your HomeYou can get Advent wreath kits online or from most Christian bookstores. But you can easily make your own with a wreath (natural or artificial) and five candles.Let Your Nativity Scene Function as an Advent CalendarI have not done this before, but I have friends who do. They have nativity scenes with lots of characters. They time the setting up of their nativity scene so that they add one character each day, adding the Christ child on Christmas (or Christmas Eve). This can also be a wonderful family tradition that involves each member, especially younger children.Dress for Advent01333500It’s common for people to wear Christmas colors throughout the month of December, so why not Advent colors? I used to do this when I led worship at Irvine Presbyterian Church, wearing a purple tie in the more traditional services and a purple sweater in the contemporary services. These days, I wear purple ties to work during the first part of Advent, before I transition to Christmas ties (which I won’t get to wear unless I use them in the days leading up to Christmas).Focus in Your Personal Devotions on Advent ThemesThere are many texts, both in the Old Testament and New Testament, that express Advent themes. By reading and meditating on these passages you’ll enhance your Advent experience of God. Some possibilities for Advent Bible readings can be found in my Advent Devotional Guide.Do Acts of Kindness and Justice that Inflame Your Hope for God’s FutureAdvent is a season to consider both “advents” of Jesus. When Jesus comes again as a victorious King, he will usher in the Kingdom of God with all of its blessings. God’s peace and justice will fill the earth. There will be no more sorrow or tears. People will turn implements of war into tools to produce food, and “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4). It’s easy for those of us who live in safety, comfort, and prosperity to neglect a godly hope for the coming of the kingdom and all of its benefits. Yet, this hope can be inflamed within us when we reach out to share life with and care for people in need, for the hungry and homeless, for victims of injustice and oppression, for those who suffer from sickness or sadness. Advent can be a time to touch those in need, not only so that we might share God’s love with them, but also so that our yearning for the kingdom might be renewed within us.Tomorrow I’ll add one more way to observe Advent. This I count as my greatest Advent discovery. Stay tuned . . . .Sharing My Greatest Advent DiscoveryEarlier in this series I spoke of discovering Advent. Of course I didn’t discover it in the way an explorer discovers a place no one has been before. Millions upon millions of Christians have observed Advent for centuries upon centuries. (Check this short history of Advent.) I’ve been a Johnny-come-lately. My discovery of Advent was more like when I find some fantastic natural oasis that’s been around for a long time, but, for some reason, I hadn’t ever visited.What I want to write about today isn’t my discovery of Advent as an opportunity for growing in my relationship with God, but rather my accidental (providential?) discovery of one way to observe Advent that has made a huge difference in my life.It came in a most unlikely place . . . standing in line at Costco. Now you need to understand that I am terrible at waiting, especially in long checkout lines. Some time ago, I was rushing to get a couple of items at the market. I picked a short “Ten items or less” line, hoping to buy my stuff and get going. Of course, the person in front of me wanted to use a gift card, but the gift card couldn’t be read electronically. The checker knew there was a way to enter the gift card number manually, but he wasn’t sure how to do it. So he had to call his manager. Five minutes later, I was still standing in that “short” line, watching other lines moving swiftly. My teeth were grinding and my stomach was churning. Mostly, I was mad at myself for picking the wrong line.010985500My impatience with slow checkout lines makes me an especially lousy Christmas shopper, because, almost by definition, Christmas shopping requires waiting in line (unless, of course, you are able to do all of your shopping online!) Whether you’re at a fine department store or just grabbing some chips from the local mini-mart, chances are you’ll be waiting in line during the month of December. And, if you’re like me, inevitably you’ll end up in the slowest line in the store. This sort of thing can just about ruin the Christmas season for me, because waiting makes me grumpy.Okay, enough with the confession, now to the discovery.A few years ago I was waiting in a long line at the Costco in Irvine, California. In spite of my best efforts to find the shortest line, of course I ended up in the slowest moving line of all. As I stood there, I could feel my blood pressure rising. The more I waited, the more frustrated I became. Words I never say (well, almost never) filled my mind, and I’m not referring to “Happy Holidays.” “Why do I always get in the slowest *^%#($ line?” I asked myself. “And why is this taking so *#^($& long?” I grumbled under my breath. Then, all of a sudden, it dawned on me. I had one of those moments of grace in which God managed to slip a word into my consciousness. As I stood in that slow-moving line at Costco, I was waiting. Waiting! In a way, I was experiencing exactly what Advent is all about. Of course I wasn’t waiting for God to save me or anything momentous like that. I was simply waiting to get out of that store so I could go home. But, nevertheless, I was waiting. I was forced to experience something that’s at the very heart of Advent.So I decided, right then and there in the line at Costco, that I was going to use the experience of waiting in line while Christmas shopping as an Advent reminder. In that moment, and in similar moments yet to come, I was going to remember what Advent is all about. I was going to put myself back into the shoes of the Jews who were waiting for the Messiah. And I was going to remember that I too am waiting for Christ to return.As I decided to let the experience of forced waiting be a moment of Advent reflection rather than a cause for getting an ulcer, I found my anger quickly drain away. Waiting in line at Costco became, not a trial to be endured, but a moment of grace. And get this: I even found myself thanking God for the chance to slow down a bit and wait. This was, indeed, a miracle.By the time I got to check out, my heart was peaceful, even joyous. I felt as if I had discovered hidden treasure. But I didn’t want to keep it hidden. The next Sunday I shared my discovery with my congregation at Irvine Presbyterian Church. In the days that followed, many of my flock told me how much their Advent had been improved by thinking of waiting in line, not as a curse, but as a potential blessing.Honestly, I can still forget my commitment to use waiting in line as a time for Advent reflection. My gut instinct can take over. I can easily start clenching my fists as I think of how much time I’m losing. But then a gentle breeze from the Spirit will remind me of how waiting can enrich my life, rather than rob me of e to think of it, the grace of waiting in line during Advent might also be relevant to one of my other giant pet peeves: heavy traffic! Traffic is often worse during the season of Advent as people are rushing to the malls to shop for gifts. But I wonder if it’s possible to allow the hassle of traffic to serve as a reminder of Advent waiting.In the last few years, what I hate most about the days prior to Christmas – waiting in line – has become a quasi-sacrament, a time to experience God’s grace. If you’ve never tried this, it may sound to you as if I’ve lost my mind. This sounds even sillier than wearing purple in the weeks before Christmas rather than red and green. But let me encourage you to try it. By experiencing waiting in line not as a punishment, but as a opportunity to wait peacefully, you’ll find a bit of grace, hidden and ready to be discovered, much like a little picture behind one of those doors of an Advent calendar.4105910-21844000Is Advent Biblical?Earlier in this series I mentioned the fact that many Protestant Christians reject Advent because they consider it to be a Roman Catholic practice. For most of these people, it isn’t so much the Roman Catholic aspect of Advent that is truly problematic, but the fact that Advent is not taught in Scripture. You can’t turn to a place in the Bible and find teaching on Advent or a command to set aside four weeks prior to Christmas as a season of waiting, hoping, and yearning.The Advent tree in the window of my office at Irvine Presbyterian ChurchDoes this mean that biblically-oriented Christians shouldn’t observe Advent? For some, the answer is “Yes.” If it’s not explicitly taught in Scripture, then Christians shouldn’t do it. You’ll find that kind of argument among non-instrumental Church of Christ believers, for example. Since instruments are not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament teachings about worship, then we shouldn’t use instruments today.So what about Advent? Does its absence from Scripture mean we shouldn’t observe it?If you buy that argument, then you must also abstain from Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter, which also aren’t found in Scripture. You might as well throw out Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving too, since none of these are mentioned in Scripture. (I suppose you could find a way to derive Thanksgiving from the Jewish festival of Sukkoth (Tabernacles), though it wouldn’t fall on the fourth Thursday in November and it wouldn’t involve eating Turkey or watching football.) Moreover, if you really believe that Christians can only do that which is explicitly taught in Scripture, then you shouldn’t go a to a church building for worship, or sit in pews or chairs, or use microphones, or wear pants, or use hymnals, or use digital projectors, or . . . . Honestly, I don’t know any Christian who actually lives consistently by the “I don’t do it if it’s not in Scripture rule,” though I admire the intent of those who try.I believe that we are free in Christ to do many things that are not specifically taught in Scripture. To a certain extent, I agree with those who argue that if something is not prohibited in the Bible, then it’s okay for Christians. (Of course this argument has limits. I had a Christian friend in high school who used this argument to defend her use of marijuana, since it wasn’t mentioned in the Bible. The rest of my Christian friends and I were persuaded that the analogy of drunkenness applied to getting high on pot. Thus we believed marijuana use to be sinful.) Surely there is nothing in Scripture that prohibits one from observing Advent. No matter what you think of it, Advent surely doesn’t fall into the “illegal drugs” category of no-nos.But I’m not concerned merely with whether Advent is not disallowed in Scripture. I want to know if observing Advent is consistent with biblical themes and priorities. Is Advent biblical in this grander sense? Could the observance of Advent help one to grow in faith in a way that aligns with biblical faith?Yes, I think so. For a moment, forget about Advent itself, and answer the following questions:? Is it a good thing for us Christians to set aside a special time in the year to focus more on God and grow in our relationship with him?? Is it good for us to get in touch with just how much we need a Savior??Is it helpful for us to wait on the Lord and to learn to wait upon him more faithfully?? Is it helpful to remember our hope in God and to be refreshed in that hope?? Would it be a valuable thing in your life to be prepared to celebrate the true meaning of the Incarnation?? Would you like to experience more of God’s peace and presence during the often hectic weeks prior to Christmas?? Would your faith be enriched if you were to read, study, and meditate on biblical texts that speak of the first and second “advents” of Christ?I think most biblically-oriented Christians would answer these questions in the affirmative. Does that mean we all should observe Advent? Of course not. We are free to do so or not to do so, according to our consciences and sense of God’s leading. But it’s not hard to see how Advent (or something like it) could be beneficial for most Christians.If you’re looking for biblical passages that express Advent themes, you might think of such texts as:Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (Psalm 27:14)For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. (Psalm 62:5-7)I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. (Psalm 130:7-8)[T]hose who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isa 40:31)I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Rom 8:18-25)Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13)The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20)Of course then there are lots of biblical passages that focus even more specifically on Advent themes and hopes associated with the coming of the Messiah. You can find these in my Advent Devotional Guide.So, though it’s correct to say that Advent itself is not taught in Scripture, and therefore Christians are free to observe it or not, it is equally correct to say that the emphases of Advent are thoroughly biblical. If the traditions of Advent help us to focus more on the Lord, to get in touch with our need for him, to replenish our hope, and to celebrate Christmas with greater meaning and depth, then I’m all fer it, as we say in Texas.Week 2ADVENTOpening: Share your name and tell about a time when your holiday preparations went awry.Discussion:Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts wrote “Taking four weeks to focus on the hope of Christ’s coming made me much more joyful when I finally got to celebrate it. The more I got in touch with my need for a Savior, the more I rejoiced at the Savior’s birth.” Why is it important to remember your need for a savior? How could taking time to remember this need deepen YOUR experience of Christmas?What did you learn from the reading on Advent? What inspired or challenged you in the reading? Do you celebrate Advent?When do you decorate? When do you undecorate?Research suggests that anticipation of an event is a big part of happiness. Have you experienced this with other events? How could you add anticipation to the advent season? Would you like to add some Advent practices to your December? What? (add these to your list from the first week)For next week: Read Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18 – 2:12 and “O Come Let Us Adore Him”Oh Come Let Us Adore HimKrista EwbankDecember 2007My 4 year old daughter helped me when we decorated the house for Christmas. I gave her the job of setting up this nativity - the first I ever owned. Someone at the church I grew up in gave me this tiny plastic set when I went off to college so I would have a decoration for my dorm room.When I was younger my brother and I used to fight over who would set up the manger scene, and when the other one would leave the room we would set it up the way in which we thought it was better. When I gave my daughter the task of setting up these figures I envisioned them spread out in a beautiful, symmetrical configuration - a stage picture that best showed all the characters and highlighted Jesus in the center... clear for us the audience to see him.Instead, she made all the characters gather around, eager to get a close look at this new wonder, desiring to be as close as possible to the newborn king.What could be more perfect?Often we stand back and admire this Jesus fellow from afar. From a 'safe' distance. We worry about being seen. We are busy checking out who else is there. Feeling smug about who is not.This Christmas I pray you get in close. Smell his baby head. Gaze into his eyes. Get as close as possible to this new wonder, this newborn king. Get shoulder to shoulder with a smelly, dirty shepherd and an elegant, wise man. Come into the presence of the one who welcomes us all.Week 3WORSHIPOpening Question: What is your favorite (religious) Christmas/Advent song? Are there any lyrics that really speak to you?Discussion:What is your favorite part of the Christmas story?How do you worship Jesus in the Advent and Christmas seasons?How is this different than your worship during the rest of the year?What is the focus of your worship?How do you worship outside of Sunday morning/Saturday evening services?if possible in your small group, have a laptop and internet access and watch this video on worship: is the “perfect Christmas”? Do we spend more time trying to capture the “perfect Christmas” than worshipping the God who came to earth to be with us?For next week: Read St. Nicholas: what can I say, he was a beast, The Christmas Conundrom and Blessed are the EntitledSt. Nicholas: what can I say, he was a beast.December 2, 2012 By Peter Enns 67 Comments church today, our rector handed out a card with a icon of St. Nicholas, similar to the one on the left.On the back of the card read the following:Nicholas was born in the 3rd century in Asia Minor.?He used his entire inheritance to help the poor, sick, and?children?in need. He gave in secret,?expecting?nothing in return. He attended the Council of Nicea in AD 325. Greatly loved for his faith, compassion and care, he is venerated in both East and West.OK., that’s pretty cool. He gave away his entire?inheritance to those in need. I never knew that. I thought he had elves?helping?him or something, but I guess I got that part wrong.The rest of the card really hit me and made me feel?stupid?and cheated for never having been taught this as a child.Nicholas saved?young?women from slavery, protected sailors, spared innocents from excecution, provided grain in a famine and rescued a kidnaped boy.Nicholas was a beast. Mother Teresa, Oskar Schindler, and Samuel L. Jackson all rolled into one. What an absolute crushing beast.I like the icon–his eyes. He is?looking?off to?the?side, like he’s annoyed about having to sit there for a portrait while people in need were suffering.Can you imagine how he would react to what he has become in our contemporary society?[Say in Samuel L. Jackson voice,?preferably?the diner scene from Pulp Fiction] “Let me get this straight. You want me to fly through the air, slide down your chimney and give you stuff? How about I kick down your door and take all your money and give it people who need it?”So, to review:-8699512763500Santa Clause. Not real. An embodiment of our greed.-609601206500St. Nicholas. Real Person. Worth telling your kids about.-121920028384500Samuel L. Jackson. No-nonsense tough guy. Like St. Nicholas (sans cursing and handgun)??OK, I’m exaggerating and “totally?misunderstanding?Samuel L. Jackson” (to anticipate some humorless comments). But, my point still stands. For “Jolly Old St. Nick” to have pulled off things like standing between a slave owner and his property, or an?executioner?and his victim, or go about unkidnaping a boy, he was probably a very brave man indeed with better things on?his?mind than making sure nice children get an X-Box or an iPad 3.I feel better now. Thanks for listening.The Christmas Conundrumby Jen Hatmaker on November 29th, 2011(this blog post is full of embedded links, read it online if you want to follow them and go deeper)When I was in sixth grade, I received two Christmas presents I distinctly remember: 1.) The most coveted, desired beautiful "Forenza" tag on a pair of black leggings with a corresponding purple and black plaid shirt. (The outfit could've been anything, as long as it was from The Limited. Outback Red, anyone? Omg. If I could've conjured riches back then, I would've spent every red cent on OBR.)2.) A fun, quirky red "football jersey type" sweatshirt. I loved them both. Loved, loved, loved. I was certain these gifts were my ticket out of Dorkville. The feathered, product-less boy haircut and Bargain Selection glasses would become moot in light of my new, stylish garb. The popular kids would wonder what they ever didn't see in me. The cute boys I pined over would fight over inviting me to Sadie Hawkins, and they would say things like, "Why haven't we noticed her before? We're like Saul after the scales fell from his eyes." Or at least something very, very similar to that. Until one very unfortunate eavesdropping session. Supposed to be in bed but creeping in the hall listening to my parents' conversation which simply seemed like a naughty, awesome thing to do, I heard my mom say this: "Her red sweatshirt? I found it at Walmart for $3.00." Oh. No.She.Didn't. And just like that, the sweatshirt was ruined. In front of my eyes, it lost all its charm and it simply became something a Walmart girl would wear because she couldn't afford Esprit and her mother refused to buy her Guess jeans. All of a sudden, it communicated: I'm poor. (I was in sixth grade, people. It was a very dramatic time.)Here's why I tell you about my persecutions: That is the only thing I remember from Christmas 1985. Not Jesus. Not reverence. Not generosity. Not gratitude. Just a selfish, materialistic reaction because every single gift of mine wasn't from an overpriced store with a namebrand I could casually brag about wearing. What a brat. This sort of bull crap is still happening every year. What happened to Christmas? What on earth happened to it? When did it transform from something simple and beautiful to what it is now? How insiduously did the enemy work to slowly hijack Jesus' birth and hand it over on a silver platter to Big Marketing, tricking His own followers into financing the confiscation? We all know it. We all feel it. Every year we bear this tension. Each December, the world feels off kilter. But in the absence of a better plan or an alternative rhythm or - let's just say it - courage, we feed the machine yet again, giving Jesus lip service while teaching our kids to ask Santa for whatever they want, because, you know, that's really what Christmas boils down to. I just cannot take it anymore, yall. I cannot. What if a bunch of us pulled out of the system? What if we said something very radical and un-American, like: "Our family is going to celebrate Jesus this year in a manner worthy of a humble Savior who was born to two poor teenagers in a barn and yet still managed to rescue humanity." I'm going to throw out some ideas for what I hope is a more meaningful Christmas; you may take some and leave some. Good reader, you may take none. Maybe you'll tweak an idea to fit your family. You might say, "For the love of Baby Jesus! She's ruining everything! We'll try one little thing this year, ok?! And then we'll quit reading her blog." Here goes:1.) Because I'm anxious to make enemies and isolate myself from any goodwill you've ever felt toward me, let me just start with a biggie: We've pulled out of the Santa charade. Our newest kids are 5 and 8, preparing for their first Christmas in America, and we're just not doing it, yall. Maybe because we've spent the last four years trying to unravel the mess we've presented to our other kids all these years, but hear me say it: We are giving Christmas back to Jesus. Not a corner of it; all of it. There is no fake benefactor this year my kids can petition to get more stuff. Because honestly? For a five-year-old, how can Jesus compete with Santa? Our children don't have spiritual perspective; when faced with the choice of allegience, they have a baby in a manger, or they can get a jolly, twinkling, flying character who will bring them presents. This is going to be an easy choice for them. My friend Andrew, who identifies himself as a member of the "non-believer corner" put it this way: I always thought it was strange how Christians will tell me they have this giant and awesome truth they know is true deep in their soul and want to share with me, but when 12/25 comes around they lie to their own progeny because, apparently, that giant, liberating, and awesomely simple truth is somehow just not enough. It may be a good narrative, but it needs a little something to give it some panache.As importantly, it sets this tone for Christmas: Be good and you'll get stuff, which becomes so deeply seeded, undoing that position is almost impossible. When we teach our children to understand Christmas through this lens, then tell them at nine-years-old: "Never mind! It's all fake! Oh, and stop being so selfish because Christmas is about Jesus"...we shouldn't be surprised when our kids stage a mutiny and ask to move in with Grandma. Young parents, this is so much easier to do right the first time rather than try to undo later. Give your kids the gift of a Christmas obsessed with Jesus - and no other - when they are little, and it will be their truth all their lives. Some practical points:* When faced with Santa everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, we told our kids the story of the original St. Nicholas from the 3rd century, and his devotion to Jesus and the poor. We explained that Santa is a character based on his life, but one was real and one is pretend. We also told them some children believe Santa is real, and it's their parents' job to talk about that with their friends, not theirs. In other words, DON'T BE THAT KID WHO MAKES EVERYONE CRY IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS. You're welcome, teachers. * For the most part, we are not watching TV this month. We're allowing movies and Netflix, but the less commercials our kids have to digest, the less confusing this month is for them. Um, ditto for all of us. When there are commercials that say, "Hey? You know how to avoid the terrible Disappointed Face when you give your loved one her gift? Buy her a Toyota!"...we have seriously derailed, folks. * Take a big breath: I got rid of all my Santa paraphernalia this year. No more severed ceramic Santa heads up in here. Try not to flip out. (I am in the "undoing" category I mentioned above. So freaking hard.)* This is big: I AM NOT JUDGING YOU. If you put carrots on your front lawn for the reindeer and stamp bootprints all over your living room from Santa's shoes, that is fully your prerogative. You don't need to hide your Santa wreath when I come over or defend your position to me or anyone. For us, Christmas has gone through four years of reconstruction, each year progressively more simplified. I know God is doing all sorts of different things with different families at different times; everybody be cool. 2.) While you're stewing over Santa, let's go ahead and tackle this one: spending. Whatintheworld? We recently watched a video from Christmas 2004 when our kids were six, four, and two. (Sidebar: Those of you with a 6-year-old, thinking he is so big? You will die one hundred thousand deaths in seven years when you look back at videos and realize he was just an infant baby. And then you will cry drippy, sad tears because you'll realize that when all those old women told you to enjoy early childhood because it will pass so quickly, and you wanted to kick them in the shins, they were right. It is over in a nanosecond and the next thing you know, your "six year old" is texting and getting ready for high school and smells like the inside of a trash can.) I digress. When we saw the mountains of presents in front of our P.R.E.S.C.H.O.O.L.E.R.S. and watched them rip through boxes so fast, they had no idea what they even received, I caught Brandon's eye across the room and mouthed, "We were freaks!" Not to mention all this bounty was brought into a home burgeoning with loot already, so we had to get rid of a bunch of toys just to shoehorn in the new stuff. Kindly note that the recipients of all this commerce couldn't even wipe their own butts yet. Insane at best, sacrilegious at worst. Four years ago, we started this gift-giving policy for each kid: Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. That's it. (This year we are adding something to give, and I'll talk about that in a minute.) Brandon and I don't buy for each other, and we draw names with our extended families, so each adult only buys one gift. Friends and countrymen, we simply need to spend less on ourselves. There are plenty of practical reasons, like debt and financial strain and untold energy and stress. But even if we could afford to spend $500 on every important person in our lives, that sort of egregious consumerism is unbecoming for the Bride of Christ during a season that is supposed to be marked by the worship of Jesus. We can find alternative rhythms to show each other our love. My mother-in-law is so very, very good at giving meaningful gifts based on making memories together. She takes my kids to plays and museums and day trips. She invites them to her house individually and spends precious time with them. My kids gobble this time with her down. Let's give the gifts of time and experiences and our creative talents and words this year. They will last long after the electric griddle has been forgotten. 3.) Let's MAKE DADGUM SURE the products we do buy don't come to us courtesy of slave labor. Like Ashley Judd said in Call+Response, "I don't want to wear someone else's despair. I don't want to eat someone else's tragedy." Our little church has joined the dog fight against human trafficking, and let me tell you something: When I refuse to carefully examine the vendors I buy from because it is inconvenient or overwhelming or I just really want that, I am turning the key that shackles the enslaved hands forced to produce my little goodies. I am as complicit as the abusers who exploit these laborers. And please don't tell me, "Not buying this one thing produced through a corrupt supply chain isn't going to make a difference." All that means is I don't care. If it was our children forced to work relentlessly in bondage, we would we hope and pray rich consumers across the world would battle that injustice by directing their consumer dollar with purpose, communicating to capitalistic opportunists "NO WE WILL NOT." We will call unethical business leaders to task with our words, our votes, and our money. So many fantastic resources to help us become responsible consumers, calling vendors to reform and repentence using the language they truly understand...lack of profits:* Download the Free2Work app, which allows you to scan barcodes and find out if that product is made responsibly or by slave labor. * New to this conversation? Learn from our friends at Not For Sale. They are LEGIT. * Need convincing? Download this Slavery Footprint and see where you land: "How many slaves work for you?" (Holy moly.)* Know the top products made by slave labor, so you can be extra diligent on who you purchase them from. Careful...some of your faves are on the list (coffee, chocolate, cotton, sugar). * Learn trusted vendors and stick with them, even if they cost more. We will not finance the slave industry because we are addicted to artificially low prices made possible by not paying the labor force. 4.) On the other hand, we can do so much good with our dollar! I think about the Acts 4 church, redistributing their resources "to anyone who had need." Such beauty. We can direct our Christmas dollar in two ways for great good:Buying Products with a ConscienceThese products range from beautiful artisan crafts made by former sex slaves or recipients of microloans; they include companies who use profits for international justice or employ vulnerable workers. Fabulously, these options are legion, and you don't have to look hard to find them. I'll include a few, then hopefully readers will add to the list of responsible vendors in the comment section: index GivingThe second stream we can choose to float down this Christmas is out from underneath the consumer umbrella altogether (mixed metaphors, anyone?), and it is simply sharing our resources with those who need intervention to break the cycles of poverty and despair. This year, we are giving each of our children $100 to spend on the vulnerable. This is part of their Christmas present, because as you and I know, it just feels so awesome to be a part of Jesus' redemptive story. We will give them some options, and they can distribute their money however they want. Here are some trusted, responsible organizations to partner with, donating in increments as low as $10:GiftsofFreedom 5.) Finally (and all the readers breathed a sigh of relief), instead of just pulling old habits off the shelf and leaving a vacuum of void and guilt, let's replace American practices with - and I mean this in the most sincerest sense - Christian practices. Let's fill our homes with Jesus and find ways to worship Him with our little families every day this month. Let's join the Advent Conspiracy, daring to believe that Christmas can still change the world. May beautiful words fill our houses; lyrics like Come and behold him, born the the King of angels. As much as possible, let's mute the competing chatter trying so hard to invade our spaces; turning it down, turning it off. Celebrate Advent with your kids with diligence and anticipation. We ordered a fun version of the Advent Calendar, and each night the kids open a new envelope full of Scriptures and family activities. (Tonight we are reading about Jesus, the Light of the World, talking about what being a light in the darkness means, then playing flashlight tag. Yes, I'm sure someone will get hurt.)Believers, let's do beautiful things together this month like serve and share and spend time with one another. Let's invite the loneliest people we know into our homes and show them Jesus. How about we make lovely food together, then share it. Parents, talk about Jesus' impending birthday like it is the most precious, thrilling, miraculous moment you have ever heard of in your life. Can we be brave enough to say "enough" to any further ruination of Jesus' day? Can we risk difficult conversations with grandparents and friends and our own children, understanding that Jesus called it the narrow way for a reason, and he wasn't kidding when he said few would find it? Let's listen to divergent thinkers and spiritual leaders who are courageously leading us in the ways of Jesus this December, helping us resist consumerism and selfishness and giving voice to our radical thoughts and inner tension.Despite what your mother might say when you tell her you're scaling back this year, I am not trying to ruin your Christmas. On the contrary. I'm dying to rediscover what is simple and magnificent about the Savior of the World coming to earth, putting on flesh and saving my life. I so want my kids to marvel that Jesus came, just like God said he would, and he split history in two, forever transforming the concepts of hope and peace and salvation. And I just feel like when I create a season revolving around wish lists, frenzy, and alternate characters of honor, my kids will never understand any of this.And neither will I.Together, we have the opportunity to show a watching world something truly hopeful and sincerely beautiful this Christmas. We can live alternative rhythms in front of people, showing them something better than stress and spending and tension and exhaustion. We can raise children who understand exactly why the songwriter wrote: Oh come let us adore Him. We can partner with Jesus and bring good news to the nations yet again, fighting injustices and carrying hope to the ends of the earth through something as simple as sharing our money. Most importantly, we can render to Jesus the reverence he is owed, pushing all substitutions to the side and making our homes holy ground. This is why (from my favorite singular lyric in any hymn ever): 3709035-6540500Long lay the world in sin and error piningTil He appeared and the soul felt it's worth.A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoicesFor yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...The weary world rejoices indeed. Thank you, Jesus, Lord at thy birth. Joy to the world. are the entitled?photo ? 2007 Sharon Mollerus | more info (via: Wylio)*Reposted from December 8, 2010“Christmas survived the Roman Empire,?I think it can handle the renaming of the Tulsa parade.”??- Jon Stewart (watch the video)Ever witness a kid digress into complete meltdown mode after his parents refused to buy him that new video game? ?“But I want it! It’s mine! Give it to me!”??Entitlement can get ugly, especially around Christmastime.And the only thing more embarrassing than watching a little kid throw a fit is watching a grownup throw one.?“If you don’t play religious music at your store, we’ll boycott it!”?“We demand that manger scenes be placed in front of all government buildings!”?“How dare you say ‘happy holidays’ to me? I want to speak with the manager!”?“I want it! It’s mine! Give it to me!”?I’m not sure when or why it happened, but in some circles, entitlement has been declared December's Christian virtue.?Suddenly it’s not enough that Americans spend millions of dollars each year marking the birth of Jesus. Now we’ve got to have a “Merry Christmas” banner in front of every parade and an inflatable manger scene outside of every courthouse... or else we’ll make a big stink about it in the name of Jesus. ?Having opened the gift of the incarnation—of God with us—we’ve peered inside and shrieked,?“This is not enough! ?Where are the accessories? We want more!”?This is a strange way to honor Jesus, “who, being ?in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped…but made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” (Philippians 2:8)?Jesus didn’t arrive with a parade. He arrived in a barn.Jesus wasn’t embraced by the government. He was crucified by it.?Jesus didn’t demand that his face be etched into coins or his cross be carried like a banner into war. He asked that those who follow him be willing to humble themselves to the point of death, to serve rather than be served, to give rather than receive.?What a tragedy that history’s greatest act of humility is being marked by petty acts of entitlement and pride.?Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I wonder if the best thing that could happen to this country is for Christ to be taken?out?of Christmas—for Advent to be made distinct from all the consumerism of the holidays and for the name of Christ to be invoked in the context of shocking forgiveness, radical hospitality, and logic-defying love. ?The Incarnation survived the Roman Empire, not because it was common but because it was strange, ?not because it was forced on people but because it captivated people.?Let’s celebrate the holidays, of course, but let’s?live?the incarnation.?Let’s advocate for the poor, the forgotten, the lonely, and the lost. ?Let’s wage war against hunger and oppression and modern-day slavery. ?Let’s be the kind of people who get worked up on behalf of others rather than ourselves.Week 4SECULAR vs. RELIGIOUS CHRISTMASOpening: share your name and tell the group how you found out that Santa Claus wasn’t real.Discussion:How have you handled Santa with your family? Are you happy with how that has gone? What might you want to change?Share any thoughts about the reading “St. Nicholas: what can I say, he was a beast.”How does the real Saint Nicholas inspire you to celebrate Christmas?St. Nicholas day is December 6th. Many families choose to celebrate this day and teach their children about the real St. Nick.Share any thoughts about the reading “The Christmas Conundrum”What is the best gift you ever received? The worst?What blessings do you get from giving?What is Christmas gift giving like in your family? What would you LIKE it be?Who do you buy gifts for out of obligation? (family, teachers, neighbors?) How could you change your gift giving practices to better honor Jesus? How might our changing our celebration, as Jen Hatmaker put it, “show a watching world something truly hopeful and sincerely beautiful this Christmas?”Share any thoughts about the reading “Blessed are the entitled”Are there Christmas traditions you feel entitled to? How do you respond when things don’t go the way you expect them to?How can we celebrate Christmas as Christ’s birth in our lives without behaving like “petty, entitled” brats to those who celebrate differently?For next week: Read Mary the Mother of God.Mary, the Mother of God Rachel Held Evans excerpt from A Year of Biblical Womanhood:"Mary, she moves behind me?She leaves her fingerprints everywhereEverytime the snow drifts, every way the sand shiftsEven when the night lifts, she's always there.Jesus said, Mother I couldn't stay another day longer,Flies right by and leaves a kiss upon her faceWhile the angels are singin' his praises in a blaze of gloryMary stays behind and starts cleaning up the place."- Patty Griffin, "Mary"?There’s a misconception among some Protestants that Catholic and Orthodox Christians worship the Virgin Mary. The icons, the rosary, the crowning, the Marian hymns—it’s all a bit much, and so they dismiss out of hand any language of veneration that might elevate the mother of Jesus to a place of special esteem and call it idolatry.It’s a shame, really, because Mary has so much to teach us.Like Eve, the mother of Jesus has been subjected to countless embellishments of the religious imagination— some of them fair, some of them more reflective of the prejudices and projections of the societies from which they came. Often she appears as a foil to eve: the redemption of womankind and the standard of female virtue. Standing triumphantly atop the temptation scene on Notre Dame Cathedral’s western facade is the statue of the crowned Mary, her royal robes grazing the top of the eve’s head. “What had been laid to waste in ruin by this sex,” Tertullian wrote, “was by the same sex re-established in salvation. Eve had believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel. That which the one destroyed by believing, the other, by believing, set straight.”That a woman who managed to be both a virgin and a mother is often presented as God’s standard for womanhood and can be frustrating for those of us who have to work within the constraints of physical law. Indeed, visions of Mary’s virtue have been amplified though the centuries, far beyond what we find in the biblical text. The apocryphal protoevangelium of James presents Mary as sinless, a perpetual virgin who spent the first three years of her life living in the temple and being fed by angels, and who somehow managed to give birth in a first-century Palestinian barn without feeling an ounce of pain. In 1854 the Catholic Church formally embraced as dogma the Immaculate Conception—the belief that Mary was born without the stain of original sin. It’s as though, over time, Mary’s feet have gotten farther and farther off the ground.Much could be said in contrast about the “real Mary” of the biblical narrative: the teenage girl from Nazareth who gave birth on a dirty stable floor; the terrified mom who scurried frantically through the streets of Jerusalem, looking for her lost little boy; the woman who had enough influence over Jesus to convince him to liven up a wedding with his first miracle of turning water into wine; the grieved mother who wept in the shadow of the cross. But perhaps the most revealing glimpse into Mary’s true character can be found in the Magnificat—a prayer beloved by saints and Southern Baptists alike.According to Luke’s gospel, when Mary was betrothed to Joseph, God sent the angel Gabriel to deliver an important message. His presence and his words frightened the young girl.“Do not be afraid, Mary,” said Gabriel. “You have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most high. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”Gabriel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would come over her: The “power of the Most high will overshadow you.”?“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary said resolutely. “May your word to me be fulfilled”Fully yielded to the will of God, this young, peasant girl offered a bold and subversive prayer that reveals her own hopes for this special child and the future of Israel:My soul glorifies the Lordand my spirit rejoices in God my savior,?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,?just as He promised our ancestors. (vv. 46–55)With this prayer, we encounter Mary as Theotokos—the Mother of God, a Greek term that sends many Protestants running for their commentaries, but which beautifully connects the humanity of Mary with her divine call. It comes from the Orthodox Church, and more accurately means “God-bearer” or, “the one who gives birth to God.” Theotokos refers not to Mary as the mother of God from all eternity, but as the mother of God incarnate. She is what made Jesus both fully God and fully man, her womb the place where heaven and earth meld into one.At the heart of Mary’s worthiness is her obedience, not to a man, not to a culture, not even to a cause or a religion, but to the creative work of a God who lifts up the humble and fills the hungry with good things.Madeleine L’Engle connects this type of obedience to our own everyday acts of creation. “Obedience is an unpopular word nowadays,” she wrote, “but the artist must be obedient to the work, whether it be a symphony, a painting, or a story for a small child. I believe that each work of art, whether it is a work of great genius, or something very small, comes to the artist and says, ‘Here I am. Enflesh me. Give birth to me.’ And the artist can either say, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord,’ and willingly become the bearer of the work, or refuses; but the obedient response is not necessarily a conscious one, and not everyone has the humble, courageous obedience of Mary.”The same applies to faith. One need not be a saint, or a mother, to become a bearer of God. One needs only to obey. The divine resides in all of us, but it is our choice to magnify it or diminish it, to ignore it or to surrender to its lead.“Mary did not always understand,” wrote L’Engle, “but one does not have to understand to be obedient. Instead of understanding—that intellectual understanding which we are so fond of—there is a feeling of rightness, of knowing, knowing things which you are not yet able to understand.”Like a good protestant should, I think Mary’s act of radical obedience means more when she is one of us. Imperfect. Afraid. Capable of feeling all the pain and doubt and fear that come with delivering God into the world. But I suspect I may also be a bit of a Catholic, for on the rare occasion that I yield myself fully to the will of God, when I write or speak or do the dishes to magnify the Lord, I start to see Mary everywhere.Week 5Celebrating Christ’s birth all year roundOpening question: In the Magnificat, mary sings “my soul proclaims your greatness, oh God” What do you see as God’s greatness? When do you feel your soul proclaiming it?Share any thoughts and reactions to this week’s reading (Mary the Mother of God by Rachel Held Evans)At Vacation Bible School this year the kids learned about different aspects of the story through the characters. We encouraged the kids to live their lives in a way that celebrates Jesus’ birth ALL YEAR. Let’s take the same journey they did, and look at how we can keep the spirit of Christmas alive every day of our lives.Mary and Elizabeth helped us discuss preparation (Luke 1: 26-55). Mary prepared for Jesus’ birth by declaring herself the Lord’s servant (”I serve the Lord” v.38). How can we be bold enough to prepare the same way? What might that look like in our lives?The Angels are examples of sharing the good news of Jesus’s birth and redemptive nature (“I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people.?Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2: 10-11)Are our lives focused on the good news? Who can we share the good news with? How can we share the good news (if we truly believe that Jesus is our savior, how can we share his redeeming love with someone in a way that is not just information giving, but LIFE giving?) The Shepherds give us our first glimpse of Jesus’ welcome of the culturally unwelcome as well us remind us to praise God (Luke 2:8-20)Who are the “culturally unwelcome” in our community? How can we extend to them the welcome that Jesus gives? How can we help “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40)? The shepherds left the stable praising God. Do we encounter Jesus and leave praising God? Why or why not? How can we shape our lives to give more praise to God?The Wisemen remind us that Jesus is king of the whole world, not just the Jews. Their gifts inspire us to use our gifts to serve Jesus.The wise men were not Jews. They were not readers of the scriptures. Yet God revealed to them the birth of the savior. Are we ready to welcome the foreign, the people who are different, the people who think and look and celebrate and even believe differently than we do? What gifts have you been given (gifts include your talents and strengths as well as your material wealth). How do you use your gifts to honor Jesus? The wisemen’s gifts acknowledged the kingliness of Jesus. Do you give of your gifts in a way that honors Jesus and humbles yourself?The Star reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world, and that we should be like the star and lead others to Jesus. (“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16)How does Jesus bring light to your life? How do you shine his light so that others can see Him through you?CLOSING QUESTIONS:What insights have you gained from this small group study? What changes are you most looking forward to this coming Christmas? Anything else to share?This Advent season we will have intergenerational Advent Evenings Sundays, 5-7pm. Look for more information as we get closer! ................
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