“Advent Conspiracy”
Posted on December 3rd, 2009
Pastor’s Column, published in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter for December, 2009)
Starting last Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, I began a new sermon series called “Advent Conspiracy.” Too often, preachers and Christians have complained that Christmas has become too commercialized, too much of the world and of the checkout line. Well, this year, I hope we can actually do something about that as we conspire against the prevailing powers of this world to live out and witness the true meaning of Christmas.
During these Sundays of Advent, we will learn how to worship more fully our true God and not the god of consumerism, because Christmas begins and ends with Jesus. We will also learn how to reorder our desires so that we’ll spend less on ourselves this Christmas in order to free our resources for things that truly matter. We will practice giving more to others of our presence, our hands, our words, our time, and our hearts. Finally we will be challenged to love all – the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized, the sick, in ways that make a difference – because after all, for God so loved the world, that He send His only begotten Son. And during our Christmas Eve service, we will collect an offering to give solely to our community, so that even as we receive God’s greatest gift to us, we may, in our thankfulness and joy, share that gift with those around us.
These are challenging actions, and ones that my own family has been talking about. We’ve been brainstorming ways that we will try to live out the Advent Conspiracy this year. Instead of spending our money on Black Friday, we spent our time at FACES this past Saturday helping to distribute food while most of their regular volunteers are away. That’s our first resolution for thinking about the holiday season differently. We’re still talking about others. Perhaps instead of spending time trying to find the perfect gift, we will try to spend time writing notes and making phone calls to our friends and relatives. Maybe instead of telling relatives what gifts to buy for us, we will ask them to donate the money they would have spent on us to World Vision, or Heifer International, or Watering Malawi. Last year, we started scaling back on the number of presents we give to our children. We thought they might be disappointed, but Thea welcomed it, and Wesley said, “I think that’s a good idea – because my room and I are stuffed!”
These are some small changes that my family is exploring as we try to be “in the checkout line but not of it.” And in the process, I have a feeling that we will experience the true spirit of Advent and Christmas in ways that honors and worship Christ the newborn King in ways that we haven’t before.
— Yours in Christ, Michael
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