Have you ever run into an old friend, and they ask you “Well, what are you up to these days?” I find this a very difficult question to answer for several reasons. One is that I am not sure if they are just being polite or if they really want to spend an hour or so listening to what I have been up to. I generally presume that they won’t want to spend the time. Another reason is that it does not seem polite to regale them with what some might construe as bragging. For instance, I would like to say the following:
“I am building a new wall in China to rival the old one. However, the China wall project is just a side hobby that keeps me busy until I get to play my new symphony with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. I have to couple my symphony debut with my visit to the King of England. I am being awarded an OBE for my contributions to English literature. After that, Karen and I will leave on another round the world cruise.” “Oh, do you know what an OBE is?”
“Kids and grandkids are all above average and Karen is happier than ever.”
“And what are you doing these days?” “Oops, times out, I have to run. Call me for lunch the next time you are in town.”
More likely I will answer the above query with a very different response. As a matter of fact, after our church breakfast this morning, one of the friends at our table asked me what I was going to do today. My reply was honest, “I have no plans to do a darn thing today and I have nothing that I want to do.” I actually cannot think of anything I would rather do than nothing. Well, I may take a nap or help Karen eat some unbaked cookie dough.
As it gets nearer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, Karen’s baking genes kick in. She will bake enough lefse and Christmas cookies to last at least until Easter. Most of Karen’s baking goes to our stomachs, the stomachs of friends and neighbors and Karen’s children. I keep wondering each year as the cost of sugar, butter, chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, oil, flour and other cooking supplies go through the roof, how long our IRA will last.
I suggested to Karen last year that we ask for a good-will donation from anyone she gives cookies to. She thought I was being rather mercenary. I tried to tell her about the “Prosperity Gospel” but being a good Lutheran from birth she would have none of it. If you are not familiar with the “Prosperity Gospel”, it goes something like this:
Jesus was really very depressed because he was poor and did not have a limousine or private jet. Jesus died because he wanted us all to be happy. He knew the secret to happiness was to be wealthy. He said, “It is very easy to thread a needle when you are rich, but poor skinny camels can never get through the eye of a needle. Rich people will have many servants who are good at threading needles.”
The New Testament in some versions have Jesus saying the following: Luke 12:15
ESV: And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one ‘s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
NIV: Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
As we get closer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday and Christmas and Boxing Day, we will again be able to watch all the good Christians trying to decide what Jesus really said or perhaps what he really meant about prosperity and wealth. Did he really mean it when he said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” — Matthew 19:21
Or did he mean that you should plan your shopping spree very carefully, so you will be able to beat the other shoppers to the bargains and sales. Get up early in the morning with a great shopping list and carefully measure the distance between the stores you want to go to. Remember some stores will open earlier and some will have better bargains, so you need to plan your shopping very astutely.
Time, prices, sales, bargains, money and crowds are all factors to consider in developing your strategic shopping plan. For those of you who are planning challenged, you can find online help in navigating the hoards of other shoppers who are just waiting to get the best bargains before you do. Go to Godshopsmart.com for a list of bargains and strategic shopping plans. Strategic shopping plans can be purchased for as little as $19.99, and they will be worth every penny.
If you want to have some great lefse (Do you know what lefse is?) or wonderful chocolate chip pecan bourbon cookies to keep you from starving while you wait in line, I will give you a good deal on a batch of either. Your choice. You pay shipping and handling costs. A good friend of mine bakes many churros this time of the year. They call her the Churro Lady. Another acquaintance makes great tamales. You can choose either pork or beef tamales or mixed. I prefer the mixed. I can get you a good deal on these as well. Nothing like a hot tamale or warm churro while you stand in line at the cashier on Black Friday.
So, this holiday season, forget the elections. Forget politics. Jesus would want you to shop. Get out there and do your best to get the best bargains. The US economy depends on shoppers like you. However, this Holiday season, please be mindful not to purchase any products from China, North Korea, Russia or Iran. Anyone caught doing so might be in trouble with the new Office of Strategic Buying. I hear from highly placed sources that either Lauren Bobert or Marjorie Taylor Greene might be named Director. Big Brother Will Be Watching You!
PS:
Here is a great poem for those of you who want to start celebrating a “Do Nothing Day.”
I’m Sitting Doing Nothing
I’m sitting doing nothing,
which I do extremely well.
Exactly how I do it
is impossible to tell.
I scarcely move a muscle,
but serenely stay in place,
not even slightly changing
the expression on my face.
I’m fond of doing nothing,
so I do it all day long.
Whenever I do nothing,
I don’t ever do it wrong.
When I am doing nothing,
there is nothing that I do,
for if I started something,
it would mean that I was through.
When I am doing nothing,
I’m immobile as a wall.
When I am doing nothing
I don’t do a thing at all.
It’s easy doing nothing
and I find it lots of fun,
though when I’m finally finished
I’m uncertain that I’m done.
Jesus talked about the three classes of good people. The first class hears his message but has little time to do anything about it. The second class hears the message and when convenient they try to help others and spread the message of Jesus. The third class commits their body and soul to sharing Jesus’s message. The third class of men/women make a commitment to doing this year round and 24/7. For the third class, it is not a onetime thing or something to be done when they have time or are not busy. It is a lifetime commitment to share his message with the world.
The Joy of Christmas is a state of fulfillment, contentment and gratitude. Through the love of others who give selflessly of themselves, we can all be free to experience a Joy that cannot be bought or traded. It is one of the reasons that giving and not receiving is said to be the true path to happiness. During the holidays, we are excited about the chance to give to others. And nowhere is that feeling of giving more delightful than in watching the face of a young child receive something that we know they really wanted. However, Joy to the World should mean more than just giving toys to tots. There are physical gifts which we can give but there are also emotional and spiritual gifts as well.
I am frequently critical of all the toy drives that I see going on at Christmastime. Not just because I think most kids in America have more toys than they know what to do with, but because of the message that this sends. Why not I ask, have a “books for tots” drive? Why not give books for a present? Why is it always about toys? We become so narrowly focused that we lose sight of the larger picture.
Thus, Jesus did not come to replace the commandments but he did come to go beyond the commandments. God brought the commandments to Moses but the message that Jesus brought to us is in addition to the commandments. Jesus extended the Ten Commandments with a list that has come to be known as the Eight Beatitudes. A beatitude is something that gives one both happiness and blessedness. Jesus gave these Eight during his famous Sermon on the Mount:
I am continually surprised by so-called Christians who seem to revel in the Ten Commandments but treat the Eight Beatitudes as though they were bastard children of Satan. When was the last time you heard anyone wanting to put up a statue or sculpture or sign with the Eight Beatitudes on it? The Message of Christmas is the Eight Beatitudes. The Joy that Jesus wanted to bring to the world can only come by following the Eight Beatitudes. If you call yourself a Christian but you do not practice these in you daily life, then you are not spreading the Gospel of Jesus.
words of the Beatitudes go beyond any one religion. They speak to a way of being in the world and a way of treating other human beings. Just as I have found valuable teachings in other religions, I think more Christians should be willing to share the Message of Jesus in the Eight Beatitudes. Keep in mind though, that sharing this message will never work unless you also live by the message. You must be the change you want to see in others. Do you know what the famous Indian Chief Sitting Bull said when asked what he thought of Christianity? Chief Sitting Bull replied: “I have read your Bible and the religion seems good but I do not see many White people practicing it.”
Aging Capriciously 