Matthew-2V11-Spend-L
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Scripture: Matthew 2:1-11; Isaiah 60:1-6 Text: Matthew 2:11, Isaiah 60:6 Message: Spend Less – Peace Shared Advent 2 December 7, 2014; Bethel CRC, Brockville, ON Pastor Jack Van de Hoef The Advent Conspiracy continues. We’re going to do things different this Christmas. Our theme this week is “Spend Less.” That’s a somewhat counter-cultural thing to be saying, considering how many flyers are coming in my mailbox and the barrage of Christmas advertising on the radio and TV and everywhere else. Statistics suggest that the average spending during the Christmas season will be around $900 per person. That’s the average. That means that some people will spend much more and some much less. Comedian Jon Stewart has fun with the ever-expanding Christmas season. He says, Christmas was December 25. One day. Then we added Christmas Eve. Two days. Then we ran it through to Epiphany on January 6, and we would have 12 days of Christmas. Then we started having sales starting on Black Friday, to kick off the Christmas season. And now we have Red Thursday, so people can shop on the American Thanksgiving holiday. The shopping weekend frenzy also promotes Cyber-Monday, to draw people into online shopping. Decorations for Christmas are already in the stores by Hallowe’en. Christmas is such an amazing consumer holiday that it's actually eating other holidays. But let’s get one thing straight, right from the start. To say “Spend Less” is not to say that we must stop giving gifts. It is instead a challenge to stop spending money on gifts that do not mean much or are not needed. Try this: what did you get for Christmas last year? Or, what was the #1 Christmas gift that you got in the last 3 years? What was your third favourite gift? Your fifth favourite gift? What have you done with that sweater that you wore once, out of obligation? Is it buried in the back of the closet? Do you know what happened to the gifts that you gave? What about that toy that you got and played with for a week, but is now collecting dust? Instead of spending wastefully, spend less. Spend wisely. Or, for that matter, spend your money on something that will really matter to someone who truly needs it. But we’ll talk more about that next week. The other reason to spend less is that so much of our spending in the Christmas 1 season goes right on a credit card. Then in January we get the wake-up call when we realize that we cannot pay off the balance and we’re paying interest. Then those wonderful bargains and super sales that we got in December start to accumulate interest at 19.99% and the price goes way up....along with the stress, frustration, tension. By spending wisely on gifts, we free ourselves from the anxiety associated with debt so we can enjoy the Advent and Christmas season with all our heart. Our spending at Christmas can be a symptom of a deeper issue. "We are constantly searching for the one thing that will satisfy us. Yet each time we trust the promises of our possessions, more barriers are raised between our true selves and God's plain command to love [Him] above all things. It's not that we necessarily want more - it's that what we want is something we can't buy." (from Advent Conspiracy, page 24). Which brings me to our reading about the Magi. It has been suggested that our practice of giving gifts at Christmas is following the example of the Magi. However, that is not completely true. The Magi gave gifts to Jesus. We spend most of our money and a lot of time and energy giving gifts to each other. What gift does Jesus get from us? The Magi gave their gifts in a spirit of worship. They recognized that there was something very meaningful in the birth of this child. It is what led them on the long search, the extended journey, to find “the one who has been born king of the Jews.” They were searching and found the answer to their search in Jesus. The gifts which they presented to Jesus were not exactly your typical baby shower presents. Some have claimed that the incense and myrrh were actually items that pointed forward to Jesus’ death and burial. It would be the equivalent of bringing a casket to a child’s baptism celebration! Others, however, see the gifts as royal offerings. Gold speaks of royalty. Incense could suggest they recognized something divine in this child, since incense was typically used as part of bringing prayers to God. Does it matter what the gifts mean? Do the gifts indicate that Jesus will die some day and need embalming? Or do the gifts suggest that Jesus is the king? Maybe we need not choose. Because as the rest of the gospel will tell us, Jesus becomes the cosmic King of kings and Lord of lords precisely because he sacrificed himself. Because he was born to die, he is now the One to whom all creation owes allegiance and honour. 2 That’s also why we read from Isaiah 60. It’s a chapter that speaks of the light coming, the glory of the Lord rises upon you. As that glory shines, people are drawn to the light. These people come from everywhere, not just the nation of Israel. They come bearing gifts of gold and incense, proclaiming the praise of the Lord. The coming of the Magi is a fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah. It’s the message that Matthew wants to make clear to his readers. The gift of God’s love, the promise of peace restored between God and his people, is not limited to the Jewish nations. The Magi, foreigners who drew conclusions from watching the stars, will also come to know peace with God. It will come through this child, who is the Son of God, the King of the ages. The Magi looked at the stars and knew that something amazing had happened. They searched until they found the child. Their worship and gifts indicate that they found a peace and fulfilment to their search. What is it that gives you peace? How much of the root or heart of our consumerism, our focus on buying and receiving gifts, is dissatisfaction and discontentment? We are trying to find something to give us peace. Maybe if we buy more things. Maybe if we buy more expensive things. Maybe if we buy for more people. Maybe if we buy it on sale, then we can get more. Then the gifts get opened and everyone smiles and we move on to the next search for peace. The gifts are forgotten or break and something else has to come in to take their place. We can’t give it away or throw it away, because someone gave it to us and we don’t want to be rude. And so we accumulate more things and store them in boxes and move them around and don’t let go. But do we have peace in our hearts from all these things? All of this attachment to stuff is a symptom. We're trying to fill a deeper need. But it doesn't matter how much stuff we cram down a bottomless hole, it's never going to fill. Spend Less. Spend less money. Spend less time on distractions. Spend less energy holding grudges. Spend less thought trying to figure out what kind of person you want to be and be yourself. When you do spend, set your budget. Know your limit. If it’s not too late, aim to have a debt-free Christmas. Buy only what you know you can afford. Know that you will have the money in the bank to pay the credit card bill when it comes in January. Shop only with a list, even if it is a list of people that you will shop for, and buy only what 3 is on the list. This helps to control impulse buying. Before buying, consider the people on your list. Think about what would be the most significant thing you could give and realize that maybe it isn’t a thing. The key is not extravagance, but thoughtfulness. Consider your core values and whether what you are buying reflects those values. This might mean buying more fair trade items, or items that might be more eco-conscious, or locally made. Think about how and where the product is made, and if the money you spend on the product might make the world better, or worse. Spend Less. Spend out of a sense of peace, not out of a motivation to achieve peace. This is connected to our theme of last week. We said that it all starts with worship. Worship Fully. When our focus of this season is first of all on Jesus and his coming, then it will affect what we do as part of our celebrations. When we find peace in Jesus, we will not have the need to buy peace through more and more spending. A few weeks ago, we read about how the early church fasted and prayed as part of their worship. This led them to faithful obedience to God’s call. I gave the challenge to consider how you could practice a time of fasting, possibly one day a week, until Christmas. I am reminding you of that challenge, to consider also seeing spending less as a form of fasting.