Advent Conspiracy ~ Spend Less

The circumstances around the birth of Jesus did not come about by chance. God worked through the Emperor Augustus to call a census so that Joseph and Mary would have to make a journey to Bethlehem. You see, Jesus needed to be born in Bethlehem because according to the prophet Micah, Bethlehem was where the Messiah was to be born (Micah 5:2-5). There are no coincidences here. Did you notice that this passage also talks about the Messiah in terms of a Shepherd, and to whom did the angels first go to proclaim the good news of great joy that the Savior had been born? Shepherds. So again we see that nothing came about by chance. The location, the first worshippers, it was all according to God’s plan. God had this moment planned out for centuries, some think God planned this moment from before the beginning of time. So nothing took God by surprise, which means God planned to have Jesus born in a stable and laid in a manger. God knew that there would be no room in the inn and that was the way God wanted it.

Since it is God making the arraignments here, Jesus could have been into the opulence of a palace. God could have chosen for Jesus to be born in the finest Inn surrounded by servants, washed with purist of water and wrapped in the most expensive of linens. And then after the child was born, Mary and Joseph could have dined on the richest of foods surrounded by the leaders and rulers of the day, but that was not what God chose. God chose simplicity. God chose poverty. So why do we choose to celebrate this event with all the elaborate excess of today? Why do we chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus by giving more than we can afford, eating more than what is good for us, and giving in to all the excess that we see in the world around us. God turned away from the world to come in simplicity so why do we worship God in this season by turning away from simplicity toward the greed and excess of the world? In so many ways it doesn’t make sense.

Of all the steps in the Advent Conspiracy journey, this is by far the hardest one because it directly confronts what the world tells us this season is all about. If we listen to the world around us, if we listen to the advertisers and the retailers, they tells us that Christmas is all about getting what we want. For the past few years I have watched my niece and nephew sit down on Thanksgiving day and go through all the Christmas Ads. They go through the stack and make their lists of what they want. They already have more clothes, games, books and toys then they could ever need, but that’s not the point, this season isn’t about what we need, it’s about what we want. How many times are we asked, what do you want for Christmas? Even if we don’t want or need a thing, people still want to know what they can give us. There is a part of me that wants to shout – nothing. I don’t need anything and I don’t want anything because that is not what this season is all about. Jesus was born in a stable – God chose poverty and simplicity so why don’t we? No really, why don’t we? This Christmas why don’t we choose to honor Jesus and worship God by making the same choices God did? Let’s choose simplicity and this Christmas let’s spend less.

Now again, please understand that spending less doesn’t mean spending nothing. It is good to give gifts to one another. While God chose to come in simplicity and poverty, the gift he gave, the gift of Jesus was generous. So spending less doesn’t’ mean we spend nothing, it means we spend less. But even spending less is open to interpretation. What does it mean to spend less? Less than what? Less than last year? Less then what we planned to spend? Less than what the average American will spend on Christmas, which is $1,000? What does it mean for us to spend less?

The truth is that it will mean different things to different people. What I want to propose is this, can we ask ourselves what it will mean for us to spend less, and then can we take some time to listen to what God says? Spending less might be a journey of just one less gift a year for many years until our celebration and worship really honors Jesus. Spending less might mean giving nothing to those people who have everything because, well, they have everything. Spending less may mean not giving a gift to someone who has everything but instead giving a gift in their name to someone who has nothing.
When I was thinking about the Advent Conspiracy as a message for us as a church during this season, I had to ask myself how I was going to implement these steps in my own life. What was it going to mean for me to spend less and give more? When I asked myself that question, there was one thing that came to me over and over again. For me to spend less meant that what I give to my parents this year was going to have to change. I can say this now because my parents aren’t here today, and don’t tell them this because it will ruin the surprise, but for many years now my sister and I have given my parents the fruit of the month. When we asked ourselves a number of years ago what to get someone who had everything and really didn’t need anything, we came up with the idea of fruit of the month because we know that they love fruit and so they would eat it and enjoy it. So for many years now we have done this, but when I started asking God what it was going to mean for me to spend less and give more, God said pretty clearly I needed to buy one less gift and that gift was the fruit of the month for my parents.

So my sister and talked about this and my sister had wanted to make this change a few years ago, but I was the one who dragged my feet. I didn’t want my parents to be disappointed. I didn’t want my parents to feel unappreciated, but my sister finally said, Andy, think about it, we are having a pineapple or 6 pears delivered to their house once a month – how does that honor Jesus? They can buy fruit anytime they want and it would be so much cheaper, so let’s take that money and buy an animal for a village through the Heifer project. They will appreciate that gift even more.

So this year, again don’t tell my parents, but this year we are not sending them fruit every month, instead we are sending a water buffalo to a needy village in their name, and the truth is that this will mean more to my parents than a pineapple in March or pears in February and the water-buffalo will change the life of a community. That’s what it means for me to spend less, I don’t know what it will mean for you, but I do know this, if you ask God how you are to honor Jesus by choosing simplicity and poverty over greed and excess, He will tell you, and then he will show you how to do it.
Spending less might simply be buying one less gift this year. Spending less might mean making sure that what we do buy is responsible and ethical. Do the gifts we buy honor Jesus? Do the movies and games and music we give to our children honor the values of God’s kingdom? Do the clothes we give reflect the values we want to promote? Are the gifts we give made in ways that are just or do they use child labor? Does our spending help people or simply line the pockets of multinational corporations? There are ways we can give gifts that promote economic justice. For example the Lutheran Church sells Equal Exchange coffee, tea, nuts and chocolate. The money from these products goes directly to the people who produce them and so our money makes a greater impact in the lives of people and communities that are struggling. So spending less might not mean giving fewer gifts, maybe it means making sure the gifts we give honor God and change lives.

Spending less might mean supporting local businesses and local families? I have to say that since I have moved to Bellefonte one of the greatest blessings to me has been Mussers Dairy. I was visiting with Joan Musser in the hospital after her fall a year ago and I learned that her family had a dairy farm and they had a farm store, so I went to just see what it was all about and to be supportive, but that visit changed my life, or least my milk buying habits. I no longer buy milk anywhere other than Musser’s dairy (and no I am not being paid for this advertisement). It not only is great milk, but I am happy to support a local family. We are fortunate to live in an area where we can support local merchants and farmers. You want fresh eggs, see the Groves whose free range chickens are producing more than they can handle.

Spending less might mean buying recycled gifts so that our spending is helping the environment. Or maybe it’s buying second hand gifts. Can we shop at the Faith Centre first and not only save some money and help the environment but also help people? Shopping at the Faith Center supports their mission and ministry in our community, which mean the hungry are fed, people are helped, and those who are lonely have a place to go. Spending less doesn’t have to mean fewer gifts; it can also mean spending our money in ways that honor Jesus.

As you ask yourself what it will mean for you and your family to spend less, I hope you will also share your ideas with one another because we can learn from one another how to spend in ways that truly honor God. I heard someone last week say they only give three gifts to one another because Jesus received three gifts from the Wiseman. For many people that might be a radical change, and it may be a goal to work towards with our children, but how exciting that people are trying to enter into the gospel story in ways that honor God.

Whatever choices we make this season, however God may call us to spend less, my hope is that we will take seriously the choice that God made when he entered this world and turn away from the excess and greed that we see all around us this time of year and choose simplicity. Can we enter into this ancient story and live in ways that reflect the heart of God and the values of God’s kingdom?