As has been mentioned several times already this morning, today is the first Sunday of Advent – a time of preparation and a time of waiting.  As church goers we would like to say that we are preparing and waiting for new birth.  In reality, I suspect that the time of preparing is a time of preparing for the festivities of Christmas – a time of baking all the goodies; a time of buying all the gifts; a time of writing and mailing Christmas cards – for those who still do that sort of thing; a time of booking plane/bus/train tickets for that trip home to family – if, of course, there are any spaces left; a time of cleaning and decorating; a time to obtain the Christmas tree – oh, the preparation list is long indeed.  And the time of waiting – well, for children it is a long time to wait – not so much for the birth of Jesus (he doesn’t bring the gifts, after all) but mostly for the arrival of Santa Claus.

For many it is also a difficult time of year – for a variety of reasons.  Some have very high expectations for the day – and it has to be on the day – December 25.  Everything has to be perfect – the food, the gifts, the decorations, the relationship amongst family and friends.  The stress levels are high as the day approaches.  For others, it is difficult because they are surrounded by joyful carols and happy laughter, at a time when they are grieving the loss of family members or friends – the loss of whom has changed everything.  Still others, who  are struggling on a day-to-day basis to provide the basic necessities for their families, find the extra costs of Christmas a challenge and a heart-break as they are unable to provide what everyone else seems to be able to.

Christmas can indeed be a difficult time of year.  Everything seems to be excessive – the decorations in the stores, the music in the malls, the Christmas gift buying ads on television, the length of time we are exposed to all those things – often beginning in early November.  Everywhere one looks, Christmas is there in all its joy.  For many people, the time of waiting is waiting for all the madness to pass by – for the day to come and go – for life to return to normal.

But there are a lot of positive activities that occur during this time of year.  People go to events and take donations for the food banks.  Turkey drives collect the vast number of turkeys needed for the Christmas hampers that are delivered to various homes.  Scarves and mittens are knitted and purchased for the mitten tree, articles which are then distributed as needed to various organizations. Through our Shaping tomorrow imitative we are collecting some items for House of Nazareth and we’ve been collecting Layette items which our UCW will donate to the hospital for families of new borns, and shortly we will be helping out with the Drop-In Christmas Party.  Various places have special meals available, and serve a Christmas dinner to those who may be alone on Christmas day.  Financial donations are made to various organizations so that the work of providing for others can continue.  Groups prepare special music for nursing homes, hospitals and special care homes.  Concerts abound at this time of year.  The list is lengthy.  Yes, the time of Christmas usually brings out the best in people as they generously contribute of their time, treasures and talents.

As we move through this season of preparation and waiting, and reflect on the various ways we can be of help to others, I would like to pose a question.  Actually, the question I am about to pose comes from John Dominic Crossan and the video series, Violence Divine.  As you are aware, we have looked at a couple of sessions.  In the last session we viewed, Crossan summarized three main points  pertaining to the stories we read in the first 4 chapters of Genesis:

  1. a) abandon the idea of immortality,
  2. b) accept the responsibility of conscience, and
  3. c) when we don’t accept the responsibility of conscience, the result is an escalation in violence.

For today’s session, I skipped ahead in the video series to a very short segment in Crossan’s video, but one which I find to be especially applicable to this time of year.  Though Crossan asks his question in regard to the wisdom versus the prophetic traditions of the bible, I am going to refocus his question in regard to our activities at Christmas.  And this is the question:

How much of what we do at Christmas is focused on charity and how much is focused on justice?

Let me introduce a few of Crossan’s comments.  One of Crossan’s definitions of charity is what nice people do for those who have less than they have, possibly because they have taken it.  I’ll say that again, “charity is what nice people do for those who have less than they have, possibly because they have taken it.”  Before you react too quickly, let me add a few more of his statements.  He also notes that charity is a way of trying to remedy the lack of distributive justice.  To quote Crossan, distributive justice is “where all God’s people get a fair share of all God’s earth.”  We are agents, stewards and managers of this world, and our aim is to ensure that all people get a fair share.

Now, we all know that not all people get a fair share.  We all know that there are people who are very, very wealthy, and whose aim in life is to continue to use the system and the hard work of others to build up their own empire.  We all know that there are people who make millions of dollars a year while others struggle on a minimum wage that isn’t sufficient to cover the basics of life.  We all know that there are all kinds of people who, for whatever reason, are unable to hold a paying position.  We all know that there are all kinds of examples in our world where some get paid more than others for doing the same job.

And then there are the examples of the wastage that occurs in our society – and Christmas is a prime time for that.  How much stuff do we really need?  How much of the stuff that is received at Christmas ends up at a yard sale in the spring time?

How much food is wasted over the holiday season?  How much food do we eat that we really don’t need over the Christmas season – and then go on diets and exercise programs in January to get rid of the extra weight?  And we don’t have to look far to find others who don’t have enough to provide the basic necessities.  Oh, yes, there is a lack of distributive justice in our world.

What Crossan is claiming is that when we give to charity, we are supporting the injustice in this world.  When we provide food, clothing, money, mittens to others in need, what we are doing is supporting the continuation of the systems that perpetuate the injustice in the world.  When we give to charity, we aren’t asking the hard questions, such as: Why is the minimum wage so low that people can’t survive on it?  Why is there a lack of mental health services in our communities?  Why are there so many homeless people as mentioned by Ann in her Minute for Affirm on Nov 13?  Why are so many of our young people un or under employed?

Now, I don’t want you to misinterpret Crossan.  He isn’t saying that we shouldn’t help people, that we shouldn’t give to charity.  He notes, in the parable of the good Samaritan, that when the Samaritan saw someone in need, he didn’t stop and ask, “I wonder why there is such a rise in the number of bandits who accost people on this stretch of roadway.  Is the rise in the number of bandits, the rise in the number who seek to make a living by stealing, due to the number of young men who are out of work?”  No, he provided assistance.  And so we, too, are urged to respond, to help in whatever way we can, to respond to the needs around us.

However, Crossan cautions us not to confuse charity with justice.  In addition to helping out the local food bank, we need to ask why there is a need for food banks and why have the number of food banks been escalating.  The opening of a new food bank is nothing to celebrate.  Instead, we need to be asking, what can be done so that food banks aren’t needed anymore and can be closed?

What is the problem and how can we be part of the solution?  What are the systems that are established that enable the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer?

We can also seek out those organizations that need our support as they take on the injustices of the world.  And I don’t mean only financially, though this is often the easiest way to provide our support.  I also mean being willing to give of our time and our talents.  I mean being willing to speak out on issues, being willing to organize educational opportunities and offer Movie Nights on important topics.  I mean taking the risk to be heard, to take a stand, knowing that there are others who will disagree with us.  Offering more than just charity is not always easy to do – or easy to organize, but if we are to change this world and bring about even a little distributive justice, then actions need to be taken.  Injustice shakes the foundation of the earth and what is needed is Justice.

But, as Crossan also notes, justice cannot be done without love – in that justice is the flesh of love and love is the spirit of Justice.  Separate the two and you have neither.  Love without justice is empty, and justice without love would probably go wrong and end up in violence.

So as we embark on this season of Advent, let us reflect on what we do, and how we do it.  And let us listen to the following song by Judy Bryant, which was inspired by Crossan’s reflection on Justice and love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRT_rBCpVnM Justice and love