"From the sepulcher at sunrise to the fashion parade on Fifth Avenue is the boorish measure of our denial of Christ – from innocent wonder to cynical worldliness."

"How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few his precepts! O! ‘tis easier to keep holidays than commandments."

"April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four."

We are about to turn the corner and enter "the holidays." The economy is in a tail spin, consumer spending dropped last month at a record rate. The stock market is, no, let’s not even go there. In short, all of the materialistic measures by which we have come to measure our joy are heading south. It is for times such as these that the events, on which "the holidays" were built, occurred in the first place.

Thanksgiving is time to give thanks. The background story is well known to us. Pilgrims fleeing religious persecution, having suffered greatly through hard times, are befriended by Native Americans who have every reason to see these illegal aliens fail. Instead, they make peace and support the farming efforts of the colony. In March of 1621 an event occurs that they did not see as ‘Thanksgiving’ a gathering already known to them for other purposes. The 53 survivors sit down to dine with 90 Native Americans for three days with turkey and without the NFL. The first time the event occurred under the title "Thanksgiving" was two years later. The parade was yet centuries away.

This day is born out of suffering. The Pilgrims were ravaged by disease as were all the Native Americans with whom they came into contact. The Christmas holidays which follow come from similar roots. Christ’s birth did not likely occur anywhere near December, more likely March or April. Christ is born in humble circumstances, although more has been made of his parent’s poverty than was probably the case. He is the long awaited one who is to rescue God’s people from the corrupting captivity of the world. His message is that the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel.

Contrary to the spend-at-all-cost boost to the economy during "the holidays," the Gospel is about turning your back on greed and emptying one’s self in service to the poor, the needy, and dispossessed. Let’s be honest about it. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade opens a 40 day window to a season that preys on our weaknesses, promoting a culture of greed and consumption at all costs. This year may be different and retailers may fall in droves, but these days were originally born of difficult times.

We have, in the church, long mourned over the hijacking of Christmas by the consumption model of our economy. How many sermons have you heard on the commercialization of Christ’s birth? It is natural that a culture wants a party. We have just tried to remind ourselves about ‘the reason for the season.’ It is times like this that we have the opportunity to teach the reasoning behind the reason.

Humanity does not easily remember that giving thanks to God for the harvest and community and for the salvation born in Christ are essential components of a spirituality which can lift us in troubled times. It is the mission of Christ to deliver us from our own self-serving greed and desire for power, wealth, and dominance, and to empty ourselves so that in humble service we would experience the Holy Spirit leading us in life. It is unfortunate that retail sales are virtually dependent on these 40 days in the wilderness frenzy of ‘the holidays,’ but that is not what these days are about.

Give thanks for the harvest and those different from yourself whose contributions to community have served the welfare of all. God is at the root of each, so give praise to God for both. Christ is born, and more importantly is anointed and called at his baptism to change the world and each of us who live in it. The best way to celebrate thus is to actually allow Christ to accomplish his mission and change us. We can’t do that if we are determined to continue to act the same. Scripture tells us, and our own experience should confirm, that the world and dark forces within it will always try to bend, twist, and undermine Christ ‘s purposes. I don’t want to say that big inflated balloons, marching bands, Broadway dancers and flowery floats, or Black Friday lost leader sale’s gimmicks, credit cards, and flying reindeers are necessarily an evil plot to rob us of the spiritual meaning of these days. I just don’t really see how they help us focus on the spiritual quest we are called to through these remembrances.

This is the obligation of the church. Through Christian charity, Advent expectations, choral pronouncements, and Holy Communion, we seek to be true to the reason and redeem the season. It is a battle for hearts and minds in which the culture has every advantage but one. It is God who has the last say.

Grace and Peace,

Ed