 | The New England Church PulpitNew England Congregational Church UCC |
[CHRISTMAS] LISTS | December 24, 2001 |
Santa Claus is coming to town. He’s making a list and checking it twice; gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.
How many of you had at least one list during this holiday season? A list of groceries, a list of gifts to buy, a list of what you want for Christmas, a list of projects to do around the house before the company arrives, a list of who’s coming to the party...a list for this, a list for that. We pride ourselves on being so organized as to have lots of lists, to make sure everything is included and everything gets done. That way we can measure our success or failure.
Lists, however, are practices of scarcity: they remind us of what we don’t have or don’t have done; they have beginnings and ends, they tell who’s in and who’s out, they give us quantities and time lines; they give us a false sense of accomplishment; they placate our sensitivities. Have you ever gotten so caught up in your list for the wedding or the party that you missed the wedding or the party? Lists prompt us to ask the question “did I get everything done?” when we really should be asking ourselves “did I enjoy the event?”
If we look at the biblical story, we can find lists if we want to. Mary and Joseph were going to pay taxes, to get their name on the official government list of who’s paid and who hasn’t paid. There is the list of who’s there–angels, shepherds, cattle. There’s the list of events and the list of who has enough money to stay in the inn and who must sleep with the animals. We look for lists because the dominant script of our society tells us that lists are our salvation: if we’re diligent enough; if we’re efficient enough; if we’re organized enough we can have it all. But the dominant script of society has failed us; it can’t make us safe and it can’t make us happy. This is the script for consumers.
Since September 11, many people have decided to get out of the rat race and do what they have wanted to do all their lives. They have moved closer to family, they have taken jobs that are more meaningful, even if less salary,
they are not waiting until they finish the list of all that needs to be done before doing what they want to do.
This is the script for faith.
If you analyze and organize the Christmas story with lists, you will get very frustrated: shepherds on one list and magi on another, a myriad of angels in one and only a single angel in the other; in one they go to Egypt after Jesus is born and in the other account they go to temple to be circumcised. You soon realize that the story is difficult to accept as a historical event; the lists paint two different stories. But the operative word there is STORY. Christmas is a story, not a list. It is about seeing God in the events and the people around us, not about the number of angels or shepherds or magi, or how good we’ve been, or what we’ve accomplished.
Lists are the practices of consumers. God wants us to be part of the story. Stories are endless, they have new meaning with every telling. Every life is it’s own unique story. Christmas is a story that reminds us that life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away. Christmas is a story about moving from precarious certainties to possibilities. It is a story to remind us that with God we are not consumers, we are children. We are stories that illustrate Christmas all year long whether we are failures or achievers, rich or poor, in the center of society or living in the margins. Each of our lives is a living creche for the whole year.
Now, truth be told, we will always be making lists. The choice, however, is between seeing those lists as the way we order life, or as a means to live the story. Lists can become the death of our Christmas or they can prepare us for a Christmas full of surprises and joy. Lists can be the death of life or they can prompt us to live in the realm of possibility. Lists don’t tell us everything; they are only a starter. The list of food to buy at the store is not the holiday dinner.
It’s not too late to do some last-minute shopping...for yourself. You won’t need a list, you won’t need money, you won’t need more time, and you won’t even have to wrap it. You only need to remind yourself each day of the new year that life is not a problem to be solved, not a list of things to do, or a list of things to not do, but rather a mystery to be lived, a story to be told, and an experience to enjoy. Amen.
–Gary L. McCann
| Copyright © 2001 by Gary L. McCann. All rights reserved. |