Inflated Expectations

Have you seen the 8-foot inflatable Jesus next to the similar size Santa Claus at Wal Mart? You can purchase the Santa for only, $29.00 that’s a savings of $8.82 off the regular price of $37.82. Oh… the inflatable Jesus? You can’t buy it. It doesn’t exist.

So what? This Santa thing is so great. Look at this description: “Get into the holiday spirit by putting this 8-foot-tall airblown inflatable in your yard, at the office or anywhere! Simply roll it out, extend the stand legs, plug it into an outlet and watch it inflate. Santa and his wreath light up for a glowing nighttime display. All necessary equipment included.” Wow! Christmas Spirit in a box! What more could a person want? All necessary equipment is included! Christians seek something quite different. These giant inflatables can be used as a metaphor for the Christmas that consumerism has fabricated. The market-place Christmas evokes a gnawing emptiness that drives us to buy more than be. The retailers urge us on and on to consume the things that they want us to believe will fill our yearning with joy. Like the marketplace Christmas, we can inflate the air-filled geegaws to make a big, bright, experience. Yet they are made large by their very emptiness. And to keep them large, the fan that both creates and fills the emptiness must run continually. Turn it off, and you have a puddle of colorful fabric.

As we enter the Advent season leading into Christmas, what is it that we await? Sometimes inflated expectations built around marketplace models can lead to a deflating let-down. What we expect might have as much substance as the inside of the inflatable Santa.

O come, o come, Emmanuel. That is what our spirits seek. The real substance for which we can choose to prepare ourselves in expectation is “God with us.” In the words of the Eucharist, “Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.” He came quietly to a filthy stable off the beaten path of humanity. The Word made flesh changed the world forever. But we can often let the din of the marketplace interfere with our ability to hear The Word. Here’s an Advent shopping list to guide you as you prepare to welcome Emmanuel, God with us. Meditate on it each morning and consider how it might help you through each day to not only hear over the din of the marketplace but also to be heard spreading the Good News in Christ by “word and example.” It is based on the five commitments in the Baptismal Covenant.

__continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers

__ persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord

__ proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ

__ seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself

__strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being

O come, o come, Emmanuel. May your Advent and Christmas season be rich with the spirit and joy of the stewardship of our life in Christ.