Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

In my time here at Trinity, I rarely have had an opportunity to preach during the Advent Season.  Usually this 3rd Sunday of Advent is filled with wonderful choral music instead of a sermon -- and, as a result, I often have traveled to Mexico for a time of fieldwork in the community where I carry out my long-term anthropological research.  So, I appreciate this chance to share some thoughts about Christmas with you this morning.

Obviously, the history of Christmas is too complex and controversial to review here. While the term itself probably derives from the early English words for a "Christ Mass," most historians agree that the earliest "Christmas" celebrations were wild, Mardi Gras-like affairs modeled on traditional mid-winter festivals, including the Roman holiday called Saturnalia celebrated on December 25th.

Only in the 19th century did our modern Christmas come into being, thanks in part to the widespread popularity of the Christmas stories of Washington Irving in the 1820s and Charles Dickens in the 1840s. They both updated the traditions of the rich providing aid to the poor during the winter festivals. In the story of Scrooge bringing food and other gifts to the family of his employee, Bob Cratchittt, Dickens created an archetype for our modern approach to Christmas – as a time for family gatherings, bountiful food, and gifts for all.

Unfortunately, as we move in the 21st century, it seems that Christmas as a time of peace and joy has once again given way to a time of crazed behaviors. No wonder that the day after Thanksgiving – still regarded as the "official" opening of the Christmas shopping season – is called "Black Friday." And have you noticed that some merchants have started labeling the Fridays after Thanksgiving as "Black Friday I," "Black Friday II," "Black Friday III," "Black Friday IV," and – because we had an early Thanksgiving this year – we will have a "Black Friday V." This provides a commercial parallel to our liturgical idea of "1st Sunday of Advent," "2nd Sunday of Advent," etc.

For both retailers and e-tailers, the Christmas season is their "Super Bowl," because it may represent 40% or more of their annual sales. The Christmas shopping season can "make or break" a store, a distributor, or a manufacturer. The risings and fallings of the stock markets – even the fate of our national economy – seems to depend on the daily reports of Christmas buying. Remember when, a few years ago, the longshoremen’s strike at the West Coast ports placed in jeopardy the arrival and unloading of hundreds of ships from China – filled with Christmas toys, clothes, and other merchandise?

The strange craziness of our modern Christmas seasons is defined in part by "door buster" sales events every Saturday at 6 am. or even 5 am or 4 am. You’ve seen the TV news reports of people huddled in the cold, lined up around the WalMarts, Best Buys, Targets, and ToysRUs stores, waiting anxiously for the opportunity to buy the season’s "must have" toys and technology for their children and themselves. Just in case you’ve forgotten the "joy" of trying to buy the latest "must have" toy for your child, tune in tomorrow night at 7 pm to the Family Channel for a reprise of the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy "Jingle All the Way." This movie is becoming a Christmas "classic" precisely because it is a satire of our worst behavior – just as "It’s a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street" herald the prospects of our best behavior during this season.

What we see in the film "Jingle All the Way," in the "door busters" sales, and in our "Roman numeral"-ed "Black Fridays" is a national mania with a consumerism that encourages – even demands – that we acquire Christmas on credit. As a result, many Americans will spend 2008 paying for their 2007 Christmas purchases. In the old days, people saved up all year in special "Christmas Club" savings accounts so that they could pay cash for toys and other gifts. For many folks, this temporal relationship between saving and buying has been turned upside down. Now, they buy first and try to pay later.

And this brings us to the theme of this morning’s epistle lesson, taken from the Letter of James, the first of the "general" or "catholic" epistles in the New Testament. Since the lectionary passage for today – chapter 5:7-10 – is the only example from the Letter of James in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary, it is worth making a few general comments about the Letter before turning to our specific lectionary passage.

Most commentators see the Letter of James as an example of "wisdom writing," that is, it is filled with moral exhortations. Today’s passage begins with an imperative, one of some 59 imperatives in the 108 verses that form the Letter. The moral focus is egalitarian rather than hierarchical. For example, James uses words like "beloved" or "brothers and sisters," instead of words like "master" or "servant." The social focus is communitarian rather than individualistic. This is obvious in the Greek, but less so in our English translations. The second person plural verb forms of the Greek would need to be translated into Texan as "you all" to convey the original meaning more accurately.

In his "Introduction to the Letter of James" in volume XII of The New Interpreter’s Bible, Luke Timothy Johnson concludes that

There are at least three ways in which James speaks to every generation of Christianity with unparalleled clarity and conviction. First, it is uncompromising in its demand for a clear rejection of "the world," together with a consistent commitment to an understanding of reality as measured by God. Second, because its teaching is rooted less in christology than in theology, it is among the most ecumenical writings in the New Testament, able to speak also to those who do not confess Jesus as Lord but who share the faith of Abraham. Third, it is the New Testament writing that most clearly yields a social ethics grounded in the perception of the world as created and gifted by God (1998:183-184).

In sum, the Letter of James provides a much-needed antidote to our modern, consumer-driven "Christmas on credit." In this morning’s lectionary passage, James begins by urging his listeners and readers to "Be patient ... until the coming of the Lord" (v. 7). This imperative could be the first commandment for how we ought to approach the celebration of Jesus’ nativity.

James compares waiting for the coming of the Lord to the waiting that farmers must endure as they wait for their crops to receive the early and the late rains. Even today, we can appreciate the importance of the rains to the success of agricultural production. Without adequate rains, or having too much rain at the wrong times, all of the farmers’ investments can be lost. We know that the rains are beyond our direct control, but are essential to our success. It is no surprise that West Texas farmers go to church and pray for rain.

But James makes clear that, in our waiting, even more is needed. He urges us to strengthen our hearts (v. 8), and charges us not to grumble against one another, so that we may not be judged (v. 9). He is insistent that "the coming of the Lord is near" (v. 8,) and that "the Judge is standing at the doors" (v. 9).

There are imperatives here, but they do not demand that we be anxious, that we suffer stress, or that we become competitive in our pursuits. Instead, James exhorts us to be strong, to be calm, and to strive for a sense of community with those around us.

Consider a concrete example: imagine that you are in the parking lot at NorthPark Center. Nearly all of the parking spaces are filled and you are becoming desperate to find a spot. You turn into yet another long row, feeling helpless and hopeless, and see another car turning into the same row from the other end. Then, there in the middle of the row, you see a shopper returning to her car. You flip on your turn signal and, simultaneously, so does the car coming toward you. What do you do?

If we take seriously James’ imperatives, we can find the strength to be friendly and sharing. In the blink of an eye, we can transform a mere parking place into a gift where none existed. Not just a gift for that stranger in the other car, but a gift to ourselves. Just imagine how this scene would play out in a 30-second TV commercial: "Your car [fill-in the make, year, and value], the other car [fill-in the make, year, and value], an empty parking place at NorthPark Center in the Christmas season [priceless]."

To put the matter in another way, during this Christmas season – when "the coming of the Lord is near" – is not the time to grab the last parking place; no, it is the time to turn that parking place into a priceless gift. During this Christmas season is not the time to be overly aggressive at the 6 a.m. door-buster sales events at your local store; no, it is the time to be thoughtful in buying a gift for a needy child. During this Christmas season is not the time to seize triumphantly the last "Xbox 360" or whatever may be this year’s "must have" toy; no, it is the time to think outside the "Xbox" – and give a gift of long-term value, such as an age-appropriate and timeless book.

In the spirit of the Letter of James, let us recognize the moral imperative to do right by our neighbors. When the opportunity comes to us, let us be generous in thought, word, and deed. Above all, during this Christmas season, let us "Be patient" – even as we pray to God to "Be patient" with us for our many failings.

© 2007 Van Kemper (e-mail: rkemper@trinitypresdallas.org)