Wish Lists
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‘Tis the season when many celebrate special days on the shopping calendar. Financial analysts are declaring Black Friday a success, with in-store sales up nearly 2%, and online sales up more than 9%. Forbes Magazine declared Cyber Monday the “biggest online shopping day of all time, with U.S. online sales reaching $14.25-billion. Someone has measured the rate of sales, and claims that at the peak, Americans were spending $16-million/minute. As I read news about shoppers making purchases, I was reminded that the shoppers in my family had requested from me my Christmas “wish list,” and that I would be hearing again from my immediate and extended family about the things we would be hoping to give or receive this holiday season.
Someone at Homiletics journal put together some of the biggest hits of past Christmas lists; surely you will remember many of them.[1] Tinker Toys and Lincoln logs have been around for more than one-hundred years. Barbie came along in 1959. The hot toys of the ‘60s were Spirograph, G.I. Joe, Lite-Brite, and Hot Wheels race cars. In the ‘70s, LEGOS and Star War figures came along. The ‘80s brought the Rubik’s Cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, and Pound Puppies. The ‘90s offered Gameboys, Power Rangers, Pokémon, and Beanie Babies. In the early 2000s, electronic games dominated the market, with names like Playstation, Xbox, and Wii.
The longer we live, the more most of us realize the way that pinning our hopes on Christmas lists can be a disappointing experience. Now, I don’t want to begrudge inventive toy makers the opportunity to make a living. I enjoy time spent in our local toy store. I don’t want to deny the power of a well-chosen gift to bring joy to the heart of the one who gives, as well as the one who receives. But, if we’re not careful, it’s easy to give our best December energy to purchasing something like a “Tickle Me Elmo” doll that a decade later resides in a box in the basement. If we don’t watch out, we can place our hopes for happiness in a video game that a few years down the road will be hauled off to the Goodwill store. This time of year, it’s possible to buy the gifts, trim the tree, attend the recitals, go to the parties, and still feel like you’ve missed the real reason for the season.
Our text from the 11th chapter of Isaiah is one that Christians traditionally read for information about the reason for the Advent season. Eight centuries before Jesus’ birth, the prophet was frustrated by the decline of his nation of Judah, and the inconsistent wisdom and morality of its political leaders. Isaiah prophesied God’s judgment against the current regime.
At the same time, Isaiah set a hopeful expectation about a future ruler. It would be as if God had put an ax to an old decaying tree, then from its stump would arise, in the words of Walter Brueggemann, “a shoot of newness.” The vision of this hoped-for future reads like a wish list about how the world should look when Christ is here. In that world:
· The one who rules displays wisdom and understanding, and delights in the knowledge and fear of the Lord, his eyes and ears are not deceived;
· The poor are judged rightly and with righteousness by the one who knows them as they really are, who is not fooled by false appearances, who acts with justice, but also with grace;
· Those who are wicked enough to be arrogant in the face of God’s judgment, and who trust in their personal merits, will get what they deserve;
· Those who adopt a posture of humility before the Holy One, and trust only in his merit, will NOT get what they deserve; instead, they will be treated with mercy;
· Those who are now enemies will be friends;
· Those who battle one another for scarce resources will work with one another to share plenty;
· Peace will prevail and war will be no more because all are governed by the love and justice of the life-giving Shoot from the Stump of Jesse.
What if we looked at Isaiah’s prophecy as an example of a wish list that can be written when we open ourselves to the influence of God’s Holy Spirit? What would happen if each one of us wrote a Christmas wish list like it?
If we prayed for holy wish lists, then you and I surely could name some things we’d really like to have: peace where missiles explode, safety in communities where innocent bystanders are wounded and die from gunfire, warm homes for those without shelter, meaningful jobs for people who are idle, food and health care for children whose hunger and disease lead to premature death. But the granting of those wishes seems so difficult, and the wish for an electronic device so much easier to fulfill.
Theologian Brian McLaren once wrote about the season: “This year I'm encouraging my friends and family to give me something I want more than a toy or trinket for Christmas: the opportunity to help others.”[2] He goes on to suggest several options for creative giving that benefit others.
At Thanksgiving, I set out to start the holiday season with an exercise that felt more significant than feasting and shopping. I set up a family devotion in which our response to God would include thanking God for a blessing, then sharing a blessing with others. A small bowl was passed around the table, a bowl I inherited from my mother. As each person spoke their thanks, they placed a coin in the bowl to make an offering to the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. When the bowl was passed to our 32-month-old granddaughter Nora, and she was asked what she was thankful for, she smiled a great big smile, and said, “Cancer free!” The coins have been deposited in my local bank account, then, with a little addition, an electronic donation made to the children of St. Jude. It may be the gift I make most joyfully this season.
You may think that in the battle against cancer, it’s not much -- $27.20. But, through the years, I’ve learned by watching you and many other faithful Christians, that the size of the gift doesn’t matter nearly as much as the act of giving. I apply to myself the same words I’ve repeated to you: “Some can give much; everyone can give a little. What will you – John – what will YOU contribute? It’s like the wonderful thought of old New England preacher Edward Everett Hale – I’ve shared it many times – who said:
I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.
I know it’s not possible for each of us to do everything – there are so many options for giving and serving – but this Advent season, may each of us do something.
NOTES
[1] Homiletics, November 2010, pp. 25-26.
[2] Brian McClaren, “Gifts for Others,” 29 Nov. 2010, http://brianmclaren.net
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