Evotional

Each week, I receive "evotionals" through the mail from Christine Vogel, former Alma College Chaplain. I really liked this one:

Psalm 126:1-2
1When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."

Only three more shopping days until Christmas and the fortunes of countless retailers rise and fall on the amount of purchasing we will cram into these last few hours (and that doesn’t even include the day after Christmas when millions of us will bookend the season that began on “Black Friday” by madly rushing to the malls for the deep discounts of post “holiday” sales). Surely the shopping “gods” will restore the fortunes of the retail industry and fulfill their dreams of a banner year. And their mouths will be filled with laughter and they will shout with joy as they realize that the bottom line is very good.

But Christmas is not about shopping, as columnist Anna Quindlen points out in the most recent issue of Newsweek; and it is most definitely not about the whether a store’s advertising has acknowledged the birth of the baby born in a manger. She decries the silliness of the religious right in raising this argument. “O ye of little faith,” she says, “who believe that somehow the birth of Christ is dependent upon acknowledgement in a circular from OfficeMax!”

More important, she lays bare the consumer mentality that annually threatens to eclipse the “reason for the season” and our anticipation and celebration of this holy day. As Christians, our fortunes and our dreams are centered on the good news of Christ’s birth. Yes, we will share the gifts we have purchased with one another, but we ought to remember that the true gifts we share lie in our love and presence to and with one another; in our dreams of family and home; and in our joyous appreciation and reverence for the truly great thing God has done for us though the incarnation of Jesus, who is the Christ.