Yes,
it really happened. It was the day after Halloween, and I had gone to a nearby
mega-pharmacy to get a memory card for my camera so that I could take some
pictures of our upcoming family gathering on Thanksgiving. As I was
checking out (here it comes), the clerk asked me, "You all ready for
Christmas?" Wow!
Now
I realize that several weeks beforehand, this employee had been pressed into
service by having to clear out the seasonal aisle and then restock it
chockful with Christmas crap (yeah I said it, and I meant it). No doubt, as
well, he had put up that hideous plastic tree with its blinking lights I saw in
the front of the store.
Of
course, I had been asked that question many times before, but never, ever
before Thanksgiving. And, in essence, all this innocent, minimum wage, guy
meant by asking "You all ready for Christmas" was whether I had
amassed a sufficient amount of stuff from the Christmas seasonal aisles around
town to make a respectable showing that wouldn’t disappoint the expectations of
my family.
I'll
get back to it, but that is the first question, "Are you ready for
Christmas?” Here's the second. As a kid in school, without
fail, the first question we, children and teachers alike, asked one another
when we returned from the winter break was, "What did you get for
Christmas?" Again, the question was innocent and intended only to
offer us the opportunity to share how happy we were with our Christmas
loot.
Advent
this year is a full four weeks long. Thus, it provides us with ample time to
slowly and quietly prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the love of
Christ. As a strong supporter of The United Thank Offering, I suggest that
reflecting on these two questions, from a UTO perspective, can help make our
Advent journey one of deeper meaning and fulfillment.
Throughout
its 127 years, UTO has been a beacon of hope in our church, our
country, and throughout the world. And from its inception UTO has always looked
outward rather than inward. And so, from a UTO perspective, "Are you all
ready for Christmas?" is not about our readiness for own family Christmas
"busy-ness," but about our readiness to enter into the business of
sharing the love of our Incarnate God with the human family -- especially those
who need a helping hand.
And,
of course the question, "What did you get for Christmas?" from a UTO
perspective would be completely turned on its head to ask instead, "What
did you give for Christmas?" And that means giving, not from our
excess, but sacrificially from our sustenance; and giving not just a Christmas
tie to Uncle Albert, but giving to our neighbors in need wherever they may
be. As the Prayer of St. Francis puts it, "… it is in giving that we
receive....”
