1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36   Simple Gifts of Christmas 1   E/GR`    Dec.3, 06

1. It’s time to get ready for Christmas!  When you heard that, what were your first thoughts?  Excitement?  Anticipation?  Weariness?  Overwhelmed?  All of the above?  Of course the weariness is never just about Christmas itself is it?  It may be personal or family difficulties.  Financial difficulties.  People demanding too much of you.  World terrorism.  Community hardships.  Luke had an idea of what it felt like for the people of his time.  He writes, “Be on your guard so your hearts are not weighed down, lest the worries of this life catch you like a trap.  Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things.”  Sound familiar?  What we wouldn’t give to let go the weights on our hearts.  To be more free of the trap of worry.  Whatever it is that leads to our being overwhelmed right now, this time of Advent preparation can be a time of renewal and making the choices that enable us to receive the simple gifts of Christmas.

1. Last January I had 2 people from 2 different churches speak to me about the same idea for this Christmas.  That’s enough for me to go yeaaaah!  The first thing was the Advent hymn we used this morning.  Simple gifts for the baby.  The second was a suggestion of the wooden symbols for our Christmas trees that in their very simplicity would help us catch the spirit.  Then we learned there was a play we could use for our concerts called the Simple Gifts of Christmas.  And so our theme was born.  What are the simple gifts you yearn for this Christmas?

1. Simplifying our complicated lives.  Now that would be a gift.  First of all to ourselves, as we free ourselves from what ails us!  We are blessed in so many ways.  And yet we don’t feel good.  Take Jim.  He has always been full of energy.  Recently his energy is way down and headaches have put him further behind in his commitments.  He knows exercise would be good, as he’s gaining weight, but he just can’t seem to fit it in.  He seems short tempered most of the time, and he seems to be making excuses more and more.  He’s always tired.  He knows he needs to slow down, but he doesn’t like to let people down.  “It’s all so important he says,” as he grabs three aspirin and runs for the car.[i] If the life we choose is hard working, over consuming, trying to fit in one more thing as we overextend our physical and emotional resources, we can expect to feel bad.  It becomes a way of life – the logical consequence.  “While cholesterol is at work clogging arteries, the stress chemicals are damaging their inner linings.”[ii]  Taking better care of ourselves could be seen as self-defense!

1. And if self-defense isn’t enough to get us going, Lissner a Lutheran secretary for Peace, Justice and Human Rights suggests we consider these.  An act of solidarity with the most of the world who don’t have a choice about their life style.  An act of celebration of the riches that can be found in our own creativity, relationships and our faith or life in the spirit.  An act of sharing because we are so able, and to return some of what has been taken by unjust social and economic practices.  Or an act of faith, lived out in our commitment to this more equitable sharing of our global resources.[iii]

1. Now I in case you might wonder if I thought I had this simplifying aced, I’m writing this on my laptop, drinking coffee as we’re speeding down the freeway on our way home from Minneapolis.      In terms of what I’ve just been saying, that’s wrong on so many levels.  Many of you could give up one or more of those way more easily than I.  But I’m not going to give up going to see my granddaughters, their family, or my cousins.  I’m not likely to give up working on long trips while someone else is driving!  That’s just to say that the simplifying we do, is very individual.  It’s not a judgment on someone else.  And another likely can’t helpfully tell me what I can do to most healthily simplify.  It is to say that we can become intentional about our choices of what we do, rather than get trapped in “shoulds” or a headlong rush to do it as I always did.  I know I get more tunnel vision as I get more overwhelmed. 

1. So let’s begin to look at the simple gifts we can receive this Advent, right in the midst of our busy lives.  Compassion – feeling with.  Compassion is experiencing even in small ways what it’s like to be without.  Life is a great teacher of compassion.  It might be that you understand grief at a personal level.  Walking away from a family farm or long time home, can help us know what it’s like for people who have lost possessions or homes in other circumstances.  Our furnace or electricity may go out, and we take the time to give thanks that we know what it’s like for those who live without, and cannot change it.  Or we may choose to voluntarily do without – food for a day, or a month on the welfare amount allowed in your area.  Or carry a stone for 2 hours to get an idea of what a stroke survivor experiences daily unable to use a dominant hand.  Thinking of those ways of experiencing loss could be enough to help me be more able to just receive the gift of compassion!

1. Love – another simple gift to receive.  I’m talking on the phone and I hear, “Grandma, I love you s-o-o-o-o much.  Imagine my heart yearning for the speaker!  In our Thessalonian scripture, Paul has that longing.  “I thank God for the joy we feel because of you.  I long to see you.  God direct our way to you.  May God make you increase and abound in love for one another.  And strengthen your hearts in holiness.”(3:9-13)  How incredible!  That’s the gift we can give and receive this Advent.  Love increasing and abounding.  And we’ll likely be more able to receive it when our celebrations are simpler, as we include more visits with friends and family because of their simplicity. 

1. Community.  Nothing helps us grow into ourselves as God made us better than the community that comes as we receive such love.  That community also helps us to make changes, like receiving simple gifts.  Nothing is much simpler than a paper clip.  What if we all wore a paper clip during Advent to remind us to receive the simple gifts of Christmas? And to ask each other how it’s going as we receive!

1. Peace – probably the gift I hear most of us longing for.  In our visioning last week, we learned that some of us find that in worship.  A re-charging of our spiritual batteries.  A sense of coming home.  It’s where we hear God say to us.  “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Sit and rest awhile.”  Or we may hear, “my yoke is easy and my burden light.”  That’s the peace Christ gives that’s not like the world.  That’s the inner peace we can receive.  And it’s not just in worship is it?  We’re all made wonderfully different.  We may find peace more in nature.  We might find it more in silent meditation and private prayer.  It’s a gift we give ourselves, as we learn what gives us peace.  Peace is also something we can offer each other as we come to the table to be renewed in God’s love.  Let us share that peace with one another.