My friend, Tom, appealed to his friends not to buy him gifts this Christmas. He wants his rich friends to rather help his less fortunate friends. See, somewhere along the line, Christmas became an occasion where rich people buy more gifts for other rich people. This is not the heart of Christmas.
Christmas is not about shopping sprees to the tunes of BoneyM. Advent (starting tomorrow) traditionally is a time of serious reflection. It is not unlike Lent where we fast from earthly pleasures.
Originally it was a season preparing for Epiphany, January 6—which commemorates not Jesus' birth, but his adoration by the Magi (in the West) or his baptism in the Jordan River (in the East).
Some people claim Advent was first celebrated by the apostle Peter, but the exact starting date of the season has been lost to history.
Whenever it started, Advent originally was a time of fasting and self-reflection. In the mid-300s, two events changed that thinking: Constantine the Great built the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, declaring Jesus' birthday a national holiday; and Julius (bishop of Rome), set the date as December 25.
Christmas took on a happier, more celebratory feel and became a time of joyous anticipation. (By the mid-400s, even the Eastern church—with a few exceptions—recognized December 25 as Christmas. However, Advent is still a much more solemn occasion among Orthodox
For the church, purple (and blue), not red and green, are this season's colors. Over time, Advent also became an occasion to reflect on the coming of Jesus' Kingdom. This is SO MUCH MORE than His birth.
Yes, Jesus becoming flesh (pitching a tent on earth?) is a miracle. He made it possible for us, sinners - broken people, to become part of the Kingdom of God. If He did not come, we would have been lost.
Yet, I don't see any instuctions for us to celebrate His birth. However, I do see an instruction to go and spread the message that the Kingdom is near. I do hear James saying we can't just 'wish everybody has enough' when we have the means to make a diference.
I don't think Jesus is asking rocket science. I think He is asking what we have, just like Moses and his staff. Today I heard 'Drummer boy' on the radio and I believe Jesus would have listened to him playing his drum if that was what he could offer.
What is in your hand? Your cupboards? What skills do you have? Let us give that this Christmas. Maybe we should leave our 'thrones' a while and serve God by serving others. Let's accept the challenge to make a difference and spread the Good News that Jesus came to set the captives free, open prison doors, make the blind see... What do you think?
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