Advent and Christmas: A new approach
Photograph by Micheile Henderson via Unsplash
Rev. Margaret Marcuson
I was in the drugstore before Halloween, and I saw Christmas items for sale. My immediate response was to roll my eyes and ask myself, how can they be pushing the date earlier and earlier? I know many church people bemoan the commercialization of Christmas. And it’s true our culture puts far more emphasis on Santa than on Jesus’ birth.
Our automatic response to the commercial barrage is understandable. However, I want to suggest two different approaches this season:
Celebrate instead of complaining. A few years ago, I gave up complaining. Well, I have to be honest: I didn’t give it up 100 percent. However, I complain a lot less, and I find I’m noticeably happier day to day. I’m applying this to the season of Advent and Christmas this year. Giving up complaining means you catch yourself in a complaining thought before it comes out of your mouth. (Bonus points if you stop thinking complaints. I’m not there yet.)
And celebrating doesn’t mean you have to throw a party. It simply means you stop and appreciate what you have.
Here are some ways you might try exchange complaints for celebration this season:
Celebrate that you have so many people you love, rather than complaining about the gifts we all have to buy.
Celebrate the joy of worship this season, rather than complaining about all the demands of the holiday season.
Celebrate the creativity you can exercise, rather than complaining about limited gift budgets.
Celebrate the many options we have for gifts in our society, rather than complaining about the consumer culture.
Celebrate that people want to be generous to their families rather than complaining about materialism.
You get the idea.
Many church people bemoan the commercialization of Christmas. Our response is understandable. However, I want to suggest two different approaches this season.
Show compassion instead of criticism. You may not be a verbally critical person. But, like complaints, we can have a lot of critical thoughts. I’m working toward a greater softness of heart toward people who face all kinds of challenges, including making a living. In our culture, we rush to judgment. I do it in my own heart, too. We assume people are acting in bad faith. I don’t think that helps us move forward, individually or collectively.
Here are a few suggestions:
Show compassion toward those who make much of their living from money spent in this season, rather than criticizing how businesses over-emphasize the material side of Christmas.
Show compassion toward families who do their best to show love to their children, rather than criticizing how much people spend.
Show compassion toward the people in our congregation who make their own choices about their holiday season, rather than criticizing people who don’t show up to our long-planned events.
Show compassion to our own extended families with all their quirks and challenges, rather than criticizing family members to their faces or to other family members.
In addition, I want to try these practices of prayer to help reinforce these approaches:
Pray for people who are trying to make a living by selling gifts to people.
Pray for people who are grieving or alone.
Pray for parents who are struggling with the extra demands of this season on top of unforgiving schedules, and who don’t want to disappoint their children.
Pray for families around me, those I know and those I don’t know, as they gather together.
Finally, pray for our churches as they seek to help people move beyond the focus on busyness and gifts, and to truly experience Advent and Christmas.
Rev. Margaret Marcuson is an American Baptist minister and author of several books: “Leaders Who Last,” “Money and Your Ministry,” and “Sustainable Ministry”(forthcoming).
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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