A Renewable Holiday Season

by Kelly Fryer

Call it the Scully & Mulder syndrome. Everybody likes a good conspiracy. And some of my friends are participating in one this year called the Advent Conspiracy. The goal is to reclaim Christmas as the celebration of the birth of a savior instead of the "season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists" they say it has become. I'm probably going to catch heat for this but I want to tell you why I think this particular conspiracy ought to be filed under X in a basement somewhere. I also think there are two important lessons here for all of us, whatever business we happen to be in. 

First, a little background. The organizers describe the conspiracy as "an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption." They say they want Christmas to become "a world-changing event" again. And they have a four-part agenda for making that happen. They are calling on people to:

• Worship Fully
• Spend Less
• Give More
• Love All

Which leads me to Lesson #1: 

Pay Attention to Your Context

Spend less? Really? Who thought this would be a good message this year? Most people I know have less to spend now than they ever have...and they are feeling anxiety, fear, and embarrassment about it. They're not planning to blow the budget on Christmas gifts; they're worried about how to pay the rent and make their kid's next tuition payment. I'm not exactly sure who this conspiracy is targeting. 

And then there are all the people out there whose livelihood is directly impacted by the fact that the rest of us have so much less to spend. Have you walked alongside of a friend who has had to close a small business in the past few years? Have you wept with them as they declared personal bankruptcy because they had put everything they had into that business? I have. To these folks, the spend less message is not only out of context, it's cruel. (Especially if it leads people to Wal-Mart where, you know, you can spend less and still get as much stuff as you did last year.) 

Here's a message that would make more sense this year: SPEND MORE...wisely.

If you've got it, by all means friends, use it to do what matters. Give it away to help the poor. But, also, go spend it at your local florist, bookstore, or clothing shop. Invest it somewhere that will give life and make a difference. Wouldn't you rather buy a pair of shoes from your neighbor now than have that neighbor out on the corner with his hat in his hand after the bank takes his shop away? And, if you don't have it, don't worry. We all know that what really matters can't be bought. 

That's not as catchy, maybe, as "spend less." But it's more helpful. 

Now for the BIG Lesson: 

Your Neighbor is Not A Threat 

(Warning: Economic Theory Ahead) The central idea of the modern, industrial approach to life and work is that the environment is a threat. That's because resources are scarce. And that means you (and the organization you care about) are in competition with everyone else out there. The big irony is that most efforts to rescue Christmas from consumerism are actually shaped by this consumable mindset.

(Read that last sentence again!) 

Churches caught in a consumable mindset see themselves in competition with soccer leagues, shopping malls, golf courses, ski slopes, and even other churches in town. (Sound familiar?) They feel compelled to draw sharp distinctions between "us" and "them". One group of New Jersey clergy, for example, wrote about the Advent Conspiracy for their local online paper and said, "Christmas is about giving but not in the way the world gives" and then advised that the best way to escape "the death march" to Christmas begins with "going to church." 

Really?! At no other time of year do people (of all religions and no religion at all) smile so broadly at strangers, work so hard to convey their love for family & friends, share so generously with those in need, and declare so loudly to all who pass by that they believe there is a light in this world that no darkness can overcome. What else do you think those bright lights strung from every rooftop mean? 

There's no question that, in a consumable culture, people can easily get off track and let Christmas suck the life out of them. But I know a lot of people who have had the life sucked out of them at church! It strikes me as naive, arrogant, and just a little self-serving for church folk to claim that "the world" has Christmas all wrong and "we" have it all right. Not to mention that this us-vs-them approach - which paints all things in "the world" as screwed up, sad, or bad – is in direct contradiction to their own Story, which says the world was created by, is loved by, and is filled with the presence of the Divine. 

A renewable approach to Christmas for churches would begin with sending the Advent Conspiracy off to the X-files. Here are a few more suggestions for doing what matters this holiday season:

• Instead of trying to "take back" Christmas from folks "out there," celebrate this season WITH them. Go to the public holiday festivals and pay attention to what you see. Look for evidence of the good and the holy. It's there.
• Look for ways to work WITH people of all religions and no religion at all. See them as potential co-creators with you of a better world. When you do service projects, look for partners "out there" to work with. Again, pay attention to what you see.
• Remember to give thanks that, at least once a year, the whole world seems to well up with a kind of holy hope. Let that - and not the typical word of judgement about what "the world" is doing - shape your message.
• Set aside your cynicism about what "the world" is doing long enough to catch a glimpse of the Divine in the face - and the actions – of your neighbor. Look for it in the shopping malls, at the sports stadium, on the ski slope, and everywhere you go. Tell stories of where you've seen people "out there" doing what matters.
• Build bridges instead of walls this holiday season. Make some new friends in your community, especially with those you may have seen as "competitors."
• And, in whatever way you can think of, be more Ho-Ho-Ho and a lot less Holier-Than-Thou.

Reflection Questions 

• Do you look at your neighbors as things that need to be converted or conquered - or do you see them as potential co-creators with you? Have you been sucked into an us-vs-them relationship with your neighbors? What evidence can you give for your answers to these questions?
• Part of living and working in a renewable way is taking place seriously. What can you do to get to know your neighbors better? How can you do an even better job of listening to them, seeing life from their perspective, learning with and from them?
• How could you partner with a neighbor to do what matters this holiday season? Who "out there" is doing something great that you should be a part of? How can you make a difference together?