Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3: 1-6  Simple Gifts of Christmas 2    DC   Dec. 24, 2006

1. Two year old Kate runs into the living room where their tree was set up the day before.   Sniff, Sniff.  Daddy, my Christmas can’t work.  He was able to assure her the lights just needed to be turned on.  Oh it were that simple to make our Christmas work.  We began 2 weeks ago with our look at the simple gifts of Christmas.  We recognized that simplifying our lives is an incredible gift to ourselves and those around us.  And yet, while we are in that process, or in the chaos and the clutter, and not sure if we want to simplify, there are simple gifts we can receive.  Compassion, love, community and inner peace.  Let’ s continue our look at more simple gifts.

1. Outer peace is another gift we long for, isn’t it?  My daughter drew my attention to a letter Yoko Ono wrote to the New York Times.  Some of you may have heard of it.  It’s called Forgive us.  Yoko writes, “December 8^th is near again.  Every year, on this day, I hear from many people from all over the world who remember my husband, John Lennon, and his message of peace. They write to tell me they are thinking of John on this day and how he was shot and killed at the prime of his life, at age 40, when he had so much life ahead of him.  Thank you for your undying love for John and also for your concern for me on this tragic anniversary. This year, though, on December 8th, while we remember John, I would also like us to focus on sending the following messages to the millions of people suffering around the world:

1. To the people who have also lost loved ones without cause: forgive us for having been unable to stop the tragedy. We pray for the wounds to heal.  To the soldiers of all countries and of all centuries, who were maimed for life, or who lost their lives: forgive us for our misjudgments and what happened as a result of them.  To the civilians who were maimed, or killed, or who lost their family members: forgive us for having been unable to prevent it.  To the people who have been abused and tortured: forgive us for having allowed it to happen.  Know that your loss is our loss.  Know that the physical and mental abuse you have endured will have a lingering effect on our society, and the world.  Know that the burden is ours.

1. As the widow of one who was killed by an act of violence, I don't know if I am ready yet to forgive the one who pulled the trigger. I am sure all victims of violent crimes feel as I do. But healing is what is urgently needed now in the world.  Let's heal the wounds together.  Every year, let's make December 8th the day to ask for forgiveness from those who suffered the insufferable.  Let's wish strongly that one day we will be able to say that we healed ourselves, and by healing ourselves, we healed the world.  With deepest love, Yoko Ono Lennon, New York City, 2006”[i]

1. It was very disappointing to me that when I saw it reported on our news what the reporter said was that Yoko Ono was not ready to forgive.  That’s quite different isn’t it, from what she said.  She said, “I don’t know if I’m ready yet to forgive. But healing is what is urgently needed now in the world.  Let's heal the wounds together.”  What is so beautiful about what she’s said is it’s very simplicity.  Each of us taking responsibility.  Each of us forgiving.  Each of us reaching out in understanding and acceptance.

1. Gratitude is another simple gift we may receive this Christmas.  “I thank my God, each time I think of you, and when I think of you, I think with love.” (Philippians 1: 3,4)   Those are Paul’s words to his friends, poured out of a full heart.  That’s the gift for us to long for this Advent.  That sense of gratitude not only for our friends and family, but all the gifts God gives us.  When life is difficult it’s harder to receive that gift.  And likely even more important. But there are a lot of “usual” days that can be more blessed by being thankful for the amazing gift of life.  To look for things to be thankful for!

1. And very closely linked to our sense of gratitude is the gift of generosity.  Karen Toole on last Sunday’s radio broadcast shared some thoughts on gift giving.  The interviewer tried to get her to say that Christmas is way too commercial, and we should not be giving gifts.  She invited us to see that gifts are a symbol of the love that we have, and our desire for connection, as we see the joy when the gift is opened.  We do want to give gifts.  And can enjoy that!  She was also careful to say she doesn’t mean the overboard spending that leaves us in debt, or the trying to buy me love!  And she suggests we remember the gift of ourselves and our love.  No one else can give that gift.

1. The gift of generosity goes beyond friends and family.  It’s way easier to be generous when it’s coming from a place of deep gratitude for what we’ve been given.  I think we’ve gotten off track on what we teach our children about generosity to the Church, and charity.  At the visioning, we talked about those who learned from our earliest memory that we give to God a portion of what we received off the top.  If you got $1. allowance you gave at least a dime for offering.  And of course it may matter at times what the needs are, and we want to give more out of our abundance. But the reason for giving is spiritual.  We give first of all in a grateful response for what we’ve been given.

1. All our Advent scriptures point us to the gift of salvation available to us.  We need to reclaim this incredible gift.  I think we got turned off even the word because of its misuse.  “Are you saved?” became the short form for a narrow moralistic judgment.  Because you certainly aren’t saved unless you believe like me!  But that’s not what salvation means.  It’s full of meaning –wholeness, health, right relationship, justice, well-being of body, mind and spirit.  It was poverty of translation to English that got us off track.  When we talked about simplifying our lives to become healthier, it’s a part of the salvation or wholeness offered us.  It’s taking care of ourselves by what we put into our body, our minds and our spirits.  Taking time for laughter and visits and reading and play.

1. There are two parts of salvation.  Our personal salvation is incredibly important.  It’s a one-time gift – cause God never takes it back!  God gives us the gift of salvation, that is love, forgiveness, grace, peace.  But it’s not just something that happens to us.  It’s also our openness to receive and respond to the simple gifts given to us.  Personally our salvation is a journey in relationship to God as we make the choices over and over again to live in a healing and healthy way.[ii]

1. The second part of salvation is communal, inclusive, transforming, and related to life on earth for all.  Salvation continues to unfold through our giving of ourselves.  And our committing ourselves and our community to living out this message of healing and wholeness for God’s world. [iii] John’s very clear in his message.  It’s like making a highway, where there’s lots of stuff that must be moved around, and what seemed important brought low, and what seemed unimportant raised up.  And when we’ve turned things upside down, then the whole world will see God’s salvation.

1. So we carry on making our Christmas work, simplifying our lives, and opening ourselves to receive God’s simple gifts.  Do you remember Leonard Sweet, the theology professor’s powerful statement about our faith journey?  “The main thing is to keep the main thing about the main thing.”    I’d dare to say it works for our preparing for Christ’s coming.  The main thing is that we remember all the simple gifts God’s gives us, especially Jesus Christ, the simple gift of a baby who simply changes our lives.