The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new church year -- but since this Sunday is situated in the heart of the busiest retail shopping weekend of the year, the minds of many of our worshipers may more on their shopping lists than their prayer lists. Due to a quirk in the calendar, this Sunday is bracketed by the annual orgy of binge-buying that lasts from “Black Friday” through “Cyber Monday” -- and as team member Mary Austin notes in this installment of The Immediate Word, Black Friday is beginning to even swallow up Thanksgiving Day (especially for the employees who are required to staff the stores that remain open on Thanksgiving).
It’s as if there’s a seamless transition in our culture between the gluttony of Thanksgiving feasting and a similar gluttony of Christmas gift-buying -- something that’s encouraged by desperate retailers with ever-shrinking profit margins who are engaged in ferocious competition with each other for shoppers’ hard-earned dollars. The martial imagery often used to describe Black Friday -- whether it’s the “nuclear arms race” between retailers or the sometimes aggressive behavior displayed by shoppers determined not to miss out on a limited number of super-bargains -- is a far cry from the spirit Isaiah lifts up in this week’s lectionary passage, in which the prophet talks about walking in the light of the Lord and turning swords into plowshares. As Mary points out, the frenzied activity necessitated by our social obligation to demonstrate love for family, friends, and even business associates through swapping items that are often unwanted and unneeded distracts us from what should be our priority in Advent: focusing on our relationship with God. And in this week’s gospel text, even Jesus weighs in on the problems associated with our addiction to “stuff” (i.e., material possessions). Like everything else in our earthly life, it’s all ephemeral -- and Jesus reminds us that we shouldn’t become too attached to our possessions and need to be prepared to part with them all at a moment’s notice... because we have no idea when the thief will come to take everything away.
Team member Chris Keating offers additional thoughts on the juxtaposition of the secular Christmas shopping season with Advent, drawing on Psalm 122’s imagery of a pilgrimage to “the house of the Lord” in Jerusalem and contrasting that with the frenetic pilgrimages we make to the mall. Chris points out that the journey we take in Advent is not to the sales counter, but toward the manger in Bethlehem, where we will encounter the greatest peace of all -- the Prince of Peace.
The Biggest Christmas Gift
by Mary Austin
Isaiah 2:1-5
The prophet Isaiah, looking ahead to the reign of the Messiah, sees a day when all nations will come under God’s embrace. People will journey to the place where God can be found. There’s a sense of transformation in the journey, as the tools of war become the implements of peace and prosperity.
As Advent begins we are already midway through the Christmas shopping season, and weeks into the expanding season of Christmas music. In this season, our journeys take us more to the mall than to the mountain of God. Our transformation involves turning cash into gifts more than anything else.
The prophet Isaiah begins our Advent season with a call back to God.
In the News
Retailers are at war with each other for our holiday dollars. Walmart is beginning their Black Friday specials at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, even earlier than last year. More than 4,000 of their stores are open 24 hours a day, so the evening kickoff will carry shoppers straight through into Black Friday itself in many places. As Natalie O’Reilly reports for The Motley Fool, “In addition, Walmart will offer special deals on must-have items this holiday season through their website beginning Thanksgiving morning. This newest Thanksgiving strategy of offering deals even earlier than usual may seem like a win-win for Walmart, but its competitors are also gearing up for the holiday season.” She characterizes the shopping season as an “arms race,” adding: “Retailers are going to closely take note of what the others are doing, mimicking every move by their competitors in order to remain strong on the battlefield. Since the holiday season is six days shorter than last year, retailers are worried that less shopping time for consumers could result in a decrease in sales.”
In the war for dollars, other stores are opening earlier on Thanksgiving too. Target, Toys R Us, Macy’s, and Best Buy (among numerous others) will all be open on Thanksgiving evening for shoppers. The National Retail Federation estimates that 140 million people will spend money, either at the mall or on their computers, between Thursday and Sunday.
At the other end of the spectrum, after we eat too much and shop too much, we’re being encouraged to take a step back and give to others. The “Giving Tuesday” movement encourages setting aside the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (and the day after Cyber Monday, dedicated to online shopping from the workplace computer) for charitable giving: “Giving Tuesday aims to be this national day of giving. It was unofficially added to the calendar last year, on Nov. 27, 2012. The initiative works through partners to innovate better and smarter ways to donate monetarily, primarily to nonprofit organizations. Last year, there were more than 2,500 partners from every state that participated in the special day.... All told, more than $10 million in online donations were gifted last year, as calculated by Blackbaud, a software company that tabulates donations to nonprofit organizations. Blackbaud’s records show a 53 percent increase from Tuesday after Thanksgiving in 2011.”
Where should we look for Advent in all of that?
In the Scriptures
Into the whirl of today’s bargains and tomorrow’s to-do list, Isaiah speaks an ageless word of hope. This passage also appears in Micah 4:1-3, and is called “the floating oracle of peace.” Bruce C. Birch writes in Feasting on the Word [Year A, Vol. 1]: “It is apparently part of a general prophetic tradition.... The occurrence of this same striking image in Micah 4:3 suggests that this was a common expression of hope within the wider prophetic movement during Isaiah’s time” (pp. 3-7). The image has had particular resonance for people in many times and cultures, expressing a common longing for peace. It appears, among other places, in a statue in front of the United Nations building in New York City, as an emblem of the hope for world peace.
The choice of swords and plowshares, spears and pruning hooks, is not just a figure of speech. Todd Weir writes: “In the 8th century before Christ, when the majority of people were farmers, having more iron for plows and pruning hooks instead of swords and shields was a very hopeful message. When Isaiah wrote his prophecies, the iron age was in full bloom, having begun in about 1200 BCE, and the Hebrew people were enjoying the benefits iron plows brought to farming. They now had an excess of food from the countryside, Jerusalem was prosperous, and they had built a great Temple under Solomon. But iron was literally a double-edged sword because it made warfare more destructive and costly. Once the iron age came, you could no longer send an army of farmers out with their homemade weapons; you needed a serious industrial production of iron weapons, which meant having iron mines and forges and taxes for a military-industrial complex.” War is expensive, and diverts money from other things. In our time, we know the costs of military hardware too, as we prepare to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for decades to come. Peace and prosperity travel together, as Isaiah observes.
This world of peace, blessedly, isn’t built on our abilities, but on the word of God which goes forth to instruct. God’s judgment comes to correct our course, and with God’s summons to all people, we are empowered to let go of war and live in the kind of peace that only God can offer and make happen.
In the Sermon
Interestingly, the passage begins with “the word... that Isaiah saw” -- not just heard, but saw. The sermon might talk about the places where we see the word of God alive and at work in our lives. Advent offers us an alternative reality -- a parallel universe to the one of shopping and striving for bargains. Where in that world do we see the word of God, vibrantly alive?
Isaiah is a master at revealing our deep human hopes, and showing a vision of the world God has in mind for humanity. The sermon might talk about a vision of hope for your particular faith community, a reflection of God’s imagination where you are right now. It’s all part of God’s larger vision, but what might it look like in your congregation, your town, and in the hearts of your people?
The passage also talks about the radical transformation that happens when the word of God is fulfilled. The change of swords into plows happens on all kinds of levels. Partly it’s a transformation of society and our values, but it also requires a change in us. What do we need to change so people can see the word of God in us? Where in our own spirits do we love conflict over peace? Where do we love the flash and energy of the fight over the slow, unseen work of growing something?
“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” the prophet urges, as our call into Advent’s mysteries.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Best Journeys Lead to Peace
by Chris Keating
Psalm 122
Advent’s coming, but so is Black Friday, transit Sunday, and Cyber Monday.
’Tis the season to get moving -- but as the guy in the back pew Sunday who has been sleeping on his in-laws’ sleeper sofa all Thanksgiving weekend will tell you, getting moving may be harder than you think.
Over the river and through the wood, to holiday madness we go.
Upwards of 43 million travelers are expected to trek more than 50 miles from home on Thanksgiving weekend. About a third of them will be traveling home on the First Sunday of Advent this year. While there’s actually not a moniker assigned to that day, it is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for travel. No matter what you call it, it is a busy time, a harried time. It is a day when many in our congregations will have journeys on their minds.
Retailers are hoping, of course, that scads of faithful pilgrims will be shouting “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of Lord’ (& Taylor)!” This is the journey our culture calls us to undertake in these busy weeks. The feet of many will be standing within the doors of Wal-Mart, the temples of Best Buy and Target. Within the local shopping mall, the thrones for Santa Claus have been erected, waiting for the tribes of children to go up as has been decreed. The retail pilgrimage, already begun days before Thanksgiving, will be in high gear by the time we light the first candle of Advent.
It’s a time of waiting and watching -- for the bottom line. And unlike the promise of peace described within Psalm 122, this year much uncertainty surrounds the holiday trek.
Some predict an uneven path for retailers and consumers alike this season. Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel reported that he expects lower- and middle-income households to be especially cautious. Citing consumer anxiety and worry, Steinhafel predicted sales will be focused on blockbuster deals and price-cutting strategies.
Somewhat ironically, the fast-fleeted travel envisioned by Lydia Maria Child’s famous Thanksgiving song “Over the River and Through the Wood” cautions against consumer-oriented distractions. In her famous 1844 poem, Child captures the passion of a family bundled up in a sleigh, pushing on toward grandfather’s home despite wind and cold. Given our proclivity to shop until we drop -- even on Thanksgiving Day -- verse 2 seems particularly apt:
Over the river and through the wood,
to grandfather’s house away!
We would not stop for doll or top,
for ’tis Thanksgiving Day.
Not surprisingly, Child was a prominent voice against slavery. This song is more than a mindless ditty. Her words speak of joyful release and liberation -- the very things we often lose during our annual sprint toward the Christmas finish line.
What’s interesting, however, is that many seem to be yearning for the very things the Psalmist promises. Target’s chief of merchandising notes that last year’s Thanksgiving night openings led to a higher number of families shopping together. It’s a touching scene -- leave the dishes in the sink and the leftovers in the fridge, pile the kiddos in the van, and head to Target for a super deal on the new Xbox One. Too bad Norman Rockwell isn’t alive to capture that.
But consumer behavior may provide a hint to a deeper theological need that the church can address. Those who come to worship this First Sunday of Advent may indeed be longing for an alternative to the frenetic, jam-packed holiday celebrations heaved upon us by the consumer culture. For those with ears to hear, the Psalmist offers a different image of pilgrimage. This Psalm, the third song of ascents in the psalter, provides a welcome alternative to the typical Christmas trek.
The problem, of course, is that the Psalms are not the first place a preacher may look for Advent sermon material. The mall has been festooned with ornaments and holly since the day after Halloween, if not before. Our congregations may be itching to hear stories of miraculous births, not laborious struggles. But this Psalm’s long association with pilgrimages and processionals (including the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011), offers the promise of satisfying hope to those weary of cross-country travel, trips to the mall, and holiday extravagances.
It’s interesting to note that in the old Anglican Book of Common Prayer, verse 7 of Psalm 122 reads: “Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces.” One could read that as a prayer to fill the king’s palace with treasures and goodies. Or perhaps one could see it as a call to discover an abundance of security, safety, and wholeness within the very place where God’s presence is revealed and disclosed.
Our Advent journey is a journey toward plenteousness -- but not in the way retailers may hope. Those gathered together on the First Sunday of Advent are invited by Psalm 122 to set aside feverish activity, exchanging it instead for a holy pilgrimage that leads to peace. The Psalmist understood that conflict-riddled Jerusalem was hardly a place of security, as Clint McCann notes in his commentary on the Psalms (The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IV, p. 1184). These pilgrimage songs were likely collected during the post-exile era, when it was rare to find peace within the walls of Jerusalem. Despite this, the Psalmist delights in the promise of peace symbolized by Jerusalem and her temple. It is a compelling and seemingly timeless declaration.
Centuries later, Jesus would approach the same city with tears in his eyes because of its failure to seek the things that would make for plenteousness and peacefulness. And the same could be said today.
The Psalm thus provides an opportunity to consider what it means to joyfully participate in a very different sort of journey this Advent. It is a journey that leads to the wholeness of shalom, and away from the failed promises of consumerism. It provides an alternative way of starting our Advent journey, and offers a richness often forgotten. Our Advent journey leads not to the mall, but to the manger. It too is a place of holiness which -- like the temple itself -- cradles God’s presence and declares God’s peace.
This Advent, we’re invited to recall that the best journeys will lead us toward peace.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Isaiah 2:1-5
Qusai Zakarya could not breathe, so he desperately kept pounding his chest trying to get air. Meanwhile, a man named Ammar awoke to the sound of a rocket at 5 a.m. He rushed out of his house to see people with towels over their mouths, twitching and convulsing. Ammar helped those whom he could, until suddenly his legs gave out from under him. That day in August, at least 355 people died from a Syrian poison gas attack. Since that day the international community has condemned President Bashar Assad, and has taken steps to halt any further use of poison gas.
Application: We still wait for the day when swords will be beaten into plowshares.
*****
Matthew 24:36-44
Sam Simon has done very well for himself financially over the years -- as a writer for hit sitcoms like Taxi and Cheers and as one of the three creators of the television show The Simpsons (for which he still receives royalties due to his lucrative settlement deal upon leaving the show), he’s banked hundreds of millions of dollars. Simon has also gained notoriety as a great philanthropist who’s supported many charities. But when it became known that Simon had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer and given only three to six months to live, he received an uncountable number of inquiries about giving the remainder of his fortune away. Most were requests for investing in new startup companies and movie productions. Simon ignored those requests, and he continues to contribute to the charities that he previously financed. In response to those other requests, he said: “Like that should be my legacy: to lose money on your movie or your moisturizer line.”
Application: We do not know the end of our days, but until then our legacy should be one of doing good -- productive and meaningful good.
*****
Matthew 24:36-44
The Million Second Quiz was an NBC game show that aired prior to the debut of the network’s new fall season. The often-confusing game lasted a million seconds -- 11 days, 13 hours, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds. The show’s format and live September telecast was specifically designed to keep people watching the show in “real time,” and thus watching the commercials. The goal of the show was for a contestant to stay in the “money chair,” where the number of seconds they controlled the game corresponded to a cash prize, with every second spent in the “money chair” worth $10.
Application: Jesus did not teach us to look at life like a million-second contest, but to see each second until the end time as one of service.
*****
Matthew 24:36-44
In 1952 pianist David Tudor stunned the audience at a concert in Woodstock, New York, when he “performed” a new work by avant-grade composer John Cage titled 4'33". Tudor sat on the piano bench with a stopwatch, and for exactly four minutes and thirty-three seconds played nothing -- the beginning and the ending of the piece marked by the opening and closing of the keyboard lid. Cage’s idea was for the “silence” to highlight the “music” of the noise that occurs around us every day, and his piece became the most famous example of an experimental trend called “ambient music.” But for many people who misunderstood Cage’s intent, the term 4'33" became synonymous with “doing nothing.”
Application: We are not to live our lives in the manner of 4'33" (doing nothing), but to always live in the expectation of the coming of Christ.
*****
Romans 13:11-14
Britain’s Oxford University Press, responsible for publishing the Oxford English Dictionary, declared “selfie” to be the 2013 word of the year. A “selfie” is a digital picture taken of oneself with the camera in a cellphone -- in other words, a smartphone self-portrait. While these photos are especially popular with adolescents and young adults, the phenomenon is not restricted to them, as presidential candidates, dignitaries, and astronauts have all done selfies. The term first appeared in 2002, but it reached mainstream media in 2012. The word has already been added to the Oxford online dictionary, and is expected to be a new addition to the next print edition.
Application: As we indulge in the antics of selfies, let us also be sure our pictures show we are wearing the armor of light.
Note: As an object lesson you may want to take your own selfie -- a picture of yourself in the pulpit wearing your ministerial vestments... literally, a picture of you wearing the armor of Christ. Contrast this with a picture of yourself in a casual setting that you might post to everyone, say a photo of you from the beach or lounging around watching football on TV. If you have a video screen, the contrasting pictures can be displayed. Or you might have a youth take contrasting selfies -- one dressed for play/entertainment and another dressed for success -- and explore which is best to send and display. Ask which photo shows our witness for Christ... and ask which of the two categories of pictures dominate our Facebook pages.
***************
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Black Friday by the Numbers
The figures aren’t in yet for Black Friday or Cyber Monday of this year, but here are last year’s numbers, just to give you a feel for how important this weekend is to our nation’s retailers.
According to the National Retail Federation, consumers spent $59.1 billion in 2012 during the busiest shopping weekend of the year. While 10% of shoppers rushed to the stores right after finishing their Thanksgiving dinners, others waited until Cyber Monday, with online shopping peaking at 11:25 a.m. (Eastern Time).
An estimated 307 million Americans shopped at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday of 2012 -- 57% bought clothing; 40% purchased CDs, books, and video games; 38% bought electronics; 35% bought toys; 30% bought gift cards; and 15% bought jewelry. The favorite type of stores for Black Friday shopping were old-fashioned department stores, which were visited by 53% of shoppers; 39% went to discount stores; 33% went to electronics stores; and 29% went to clothing stores.
And more Americans than you might think (57%) say they actually enjoy getting out and fighting the crowds on Black Friday.
*****
The Joy of Shopping?
Do you hate holiday shopping? Does it sometimes seem like the entire experience -- from the lights to the confusing sales to the incredibly loud endless renditions of “The Little Drummer Boy” -- is designed to make you miserable? Well, that’s because it is, writes Oliver Burkeman in the New York Times (Dec. 9, 2012). Studies have shown that sensory overstimulation leads to “a momentary loss of self-control,” and an increased likelihood to buy things. Likewise, slow-tempo carols make shoppers more likely to linger in stores.
Stores also use psychological techniques like “disrupt-then-reframe,” giving customers intentionally confusing options, then reassuring them with a “bargain” that cuts through fog. “We might, and probably should, rail against such techniques,” Burkeman writes. But even those of us who don’t enjoy holiday shopping “might be forced to admit that we enjoy disliking it.” We don’t have to wait until December to buy, but we do it every year, “plunging with abandon into the precisely choreographed awfulness the retailers work so hard to perfect.”
*****
For the Millionaire Who Has Everything
Do you have an especially picky relative to buy for? How about a demanding teen, a fussy aunt, a hard-to-please boss? Well, Neiman-Marcus is here to help. To give you some ideas, here are just a few of the nifty items that are included in this year’s gift catalog:
* For $1.85 million you can have a 25-carat rough-cut diamond that you can use to design your own diamond ring, along with a trip to Africa to see where it was mined.
* $1.5 million will buy you a complete outdoor entertainment system with a giant-screen (201-inch) television that rises out of the ground. (Shipping and handling extra. Installation not included.)
* For the low, low price of $750,000, a motorcycle hand-built by legendary craftsman Indian Larry can be yours.
* And for a mere $30,000, you can spend the night at architect Philip Johnson’s Glass House in Connecticut.
*****
Material World, the Book
From the amazon.com description of the best-selling book Material World: A Global Family Portrait:
In an unprecedented effort, 16 of the world’s foremost photographers traveled to 30 nations around the globe to live for a week with families that were statistically average for that nation. At the end of each visit, photographer and family collaborated on a remarkable portrait of the family members outside their home, surrounded by all of their possessions -- a few jars and jugs for some, an explosion of electronic gadgetry for others. Vividly portraying the look and feel of the human condition everywhere on Earth, this internationally acclaimed best-seller puts a human face on the issues of population, environment, social justice, and consumption as it illuminates the crucial question facing our species today: Can all six billion of us have all the things we want?
*****
George Carlin on “Stuff”
Probably no modern pundit has so eloquently described the American love/hate relationship with their material possessions as well as comedian George Carlin. Here’s a slightly edited and cleaned-up version of his now-classic rant about the “stuff” we take with us when we travel:
Actually, this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That’s all, a little place for my stuff. That’s all I want, that’s all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table; everybody’s got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that’s your stuff, that’ll be his stuff over there. That’s all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That’s all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house. You could just walk around all the time.
A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you’re saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That’s what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get... more stuff!
Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore. Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else’s house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff. Somebody else’s stuff is all over the place! And if you stay overnight unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven’t used in about eleven years. Someone died in it eleven years ago. And they haven’t moved any of his stuff! Right next to the bed there’s usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there’s NO ROOM for your stuff on it?
Sometimes you leave your house to go on vacation. And you gotta take some of your stuff with you. Gotta take about two big suitcases full of stuff when you go on vacation. You gotta take a smaller version of your house. It’s the second version of your stuff. And you’re gonna fly all the way to Honolulu. Gonna go across the continent, across half an ocean to Honolulu. You get down to the hotel room in Honolulu and you open up your suitcase and you put away all your stuff. “Here’s a place here, put a little bit of stuff there, put some stuff here, put some stuff -- you put your stuff there, I’ll put some stuff -- here’s another place for stuff, look at this, I’ll put some stuff here...” And even though you’re far away from home, you start to get used to it, you start to feel okay, because after all, you do have some of your stuff with you. That’s when your friend calls up from Maui, and says, “Hey, why don’tchya come over to Maui for the weekend and spend a couple of nights over here.”
Oh no! Now what do I pack? Right, you’ve gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The third version of your house. Just enough stuff to take to Maui for a coupla days. You get over to Maui -- I mean you’re really getting extended now, when you think about it. You got stuff ALL the way back on the mainland, you got stuff on another island, you got stuff on this island. I mean, supply lines are getting longer and harder to maintain. You get over to your friend’s house on Maui and he gives you a little place to sleep, a little bed right next to his windowsill or something. You put some of your stuff up there. You put your stuff up there. You got your Visine, you got your nail clippers, and you put everything up. It takes about an hour and a half, but after a while you finally feel okay, say, “All right, I got my nail clippers, I must be okay.” That’s when your friend says, “Aaaaay, I think tonight we’ll go over the other side of the island, visit a pal of mine, and maybe stay over.”
Aww, no. NOW what do you pack? Right -- you gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The fourth version of your house. Only the stuff you know you’re gonna need. Money, keys, comb, wallet, lighter, hanky, pen, smokes, and change. Well, only the stuff you HOPE you’re gonna need.
*****
How to Travel Light
Jricco, Ben Rubenstein, Blabla96, Tom Viren, and 22 others contributed to the wiki how-to website to come up with these ten tips on how to travel light when, well, traveling:
1. Pack in a small, lightweight bag that will force you to pack less and pack tighter.
2. Research the climate and conditions of your destination so you don’t pack things you won’t need.
3. Plan your wardrobe so that everything matches everything else.
4. Pack only enough underwear for half of your stay. When they’ve all been worn, do laundry.
5. Take no more than two pairs of shoes. Wear a pair, and pack a pair.
6. Roll, nest, and tuck. Leave no space unfilled. Be creative about how you fit it all together.
7. Toiletries: Pack the wet together and the dry together in clear, plastic bags. Use small travel-size containers and replace them as needed.
8. Send some things ahead through the mail or FedEx.
9. Pack enough for one overnight, and keep it separate in case your main luggage is lost.
10. Photocopy your credit cards and other important papers and identification, and keep them in a separate place from the originals.
*****
Nothing Lasts Forever
Everything wears out eventually. Insurance companies know this better than anyone else, because when they have to pay for something they need to factor in depreciation -- that is, how close it has moved to the end of its life.
Here is a list of common household items and how long most insurance companies allow that they will last if they are taken care of:
* window air conditioner: 8-15 years
* dishwasher: 10 years
* microwave oven: 10 years
* refrigerator: 15+ years
* furnace: 15-30 years
* copper plumbing: 50 years
* hardwood floor: 50+ years
*****
Six Celebrities Who Lost it All
Here is a list of six well-known celebrities whose financial difficulty caused them to file for bankruptcy:
* Stephen Baldwin, the youngest brother of the prominent Baldwin family of actors, landed a number of roles as a reality show contestant in the past decade. The money he received from those gigs wasn’t enough to keep him in his home and pay all his debts. In 2009, Baldwin and his wife filed for bankruptcy after his house went into foreclosure.
* Willie Nelson declared bankruptcy in 1990 when he discovered that he owed the IRS $16.7 million. The IRS seized his bank accounts and his real estate. To raise money for back taxes, Nelson released the album The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories? He paid back the IRS in 1993.
* When Walt Disney started creating his own cartoons and his main client went into bankruptcy, Disney was forced to declare bankruptcy himself.
* After a longstanding feud between Hollywood starlets Zsa Zsa Gabor and Elke Sommer, Gabor struck a nerve when she and her husband told German publications that Sommer was a financially strapped Hollywood has-been. This resulted in a libel suit against Gabor, which she ultimately lost in 1993. Gabor then filed for bankruptcy.
* Singer Cyndi Lauper belonged to a band called Blue Angel. Together they released an album that didn’t sell well. It caused the band to break up and fire their manager. The manager sued each of them for breach of contract, and the lawsuit forced Lauper to file for bankruptcy in 1980.
* Renowned Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas excelled at football, setting several records that may never be broken. However, he lacked business sense. He invested in bowling alleys, land deals, an air freight company, a circuit-board manufacturer, and restaurants -- all unsuccessfully. In 1991, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
*****
Hammer Time Is Up
Many people are familiar with the story of rapper MC Hammer; VH-1 did a Behind the Music episode on his rise and fall. If you were alive in the early 1990s, there is no disputing that the era was “Hammer Time,” and his hit song “U Can’t Touch This” was everywhere. He made about $30 million at the peak of his career, and wasted no time in spending every last cent and then some. MC Hammer spent a ton on his entourage of friends, family, and hangers-on, buying cars and expensive toys as well as making bad real estate investments.
Hammer is a classic example of “too much too quickly,” and before 2000 he had filed for bankruptcy due to his enormous debt. He didn’t know how to handle his finances, didn’t have anyone around him who wanted to help him rather than use him for his money, and lost it all. Hammer is now a pastor in California.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: With gladness, let us enter the house of our God!
People: Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Leader: Jerusalem is built as a city that is bound firmly together.
People: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.
Leader: Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.
People: For the sake of the house of our God, we will seek your good.
OR
Leader: Come into the presence of the Eternal One.
People: We come with joy and awe to worship our God.
Leader: Come and leave behind your cares and worries.
People: We are burdened with many things.
Leader: Focus you hearts and minds on the eternal things of God.
People: We will turn our hearts and minds to our God, that we might be prepared for the coming of the Christ in our lives.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
found in:
UMH: 103
H82: 423
PH: 263
NCH: 1
CH: 66
LBW: 526
ELA: 834
W&P: 48
AMEC: 71
STLT: 273
Renew: 46
“God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale”
found in:
UMH: 122
PH: 272
NCH: 32
CH: 70
ELA: 740
W&P: 29
“All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded”
found in:
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELA: 757
“It Is Well with My Soul”
found in:
UMH: 377
AAHH: 377
NNBH: 255
NCH: 438
CH: 561
ELA: 785
W&P: 428
AMEC: 448
“O Come and Dwell in Me”
found in:
UMH: 388
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
found in:
UMH: 404
PH: 315
AAHH: 325
NNBH: 485
NCH: 282
CH: 592
W&P: 481
STLT: 208
“Seek Ye First”
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
found in:
UMH: 196
H82: 66
PH: 1, 2
NCH: 122
LBW: 30
ELA: 254
W&P: 153
“Sanctuary”
found in:
CCB: 87
Renew: 185
“Great Is the Lord”
found in:
CCB: 65
Renew: 22
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is from everlasting to everlasting: Grant us the grace to hear you call us from the things that are passing to the eternal ones that we find in you and your love; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We enter into your presence with joy and anticipation, O God. As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, help us to take the time to reflect on our relationship with you. We are surrounded by the frenzy of the shopping season, and it is so easy to get swept along with the crowd. This is the season to focus on the eternal, especially your eternal love that dwells among and within us. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our fascination with things that are passing to the exclusion of things eternal.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have stuffed ourselves with rich foods, and now we are stuffing our closets with presents. We spend hours and hours planning and buying gifts that we can’t afford and the people receiving them don’t really need. We spend little, if any, time preparing our hearts to be the home of the Christ. We are more focused on the mall and shopping than we are on the church and worship. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may truly prepare for the coming of your Christ. Amen.
Leader: God sends the Christ to us to redeem us and give us new life. Receive that gift so that you might be better prepared for a life of continually receiving and giving what really counts.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise and adore you, O God, for you are the one who opens the gates of glory to us. You bring us into the presence of things eternal.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have stuffed ourselves with rich foods, and now we are stuffing our closets with presents. We spend hours and hours planning and buying gifts that we can’t afford and the people receiving them don’t really need. We spend little, if any, time preparing our hearts to be the home of the Christ. We are more focused on the mall and shopping than we are on the church and worship. Forgive us, and renew us with your Spirit that we may truly prepare for the coming of your Christ.
We give you thanks for all the blessings of this life, but most of all we give you thanks that you offer us eternal life. You give to us, your earth creatures, entry into divine life which gives us more than just existence.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
Empowered by your Spirit, we join you in your care for those who are in need. We are aware of some personally, some in a general way from the news, and others we know nothing about. We do know that you care for them and are seeking their salvation and wholeness. Help us to not only pray for your children in need but also to put words and actions to our prayers.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about some of the things they do at home to get ready for Christmas. Ask them what Christmas would be if Jesus had not been born. Talk about what is really important at Christmastime.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
When Jesus Comes Back
Matthew 24:36-44
Object: an airline, bus, or Amtrak ticket stub
We just had Thanksgiving a few days ago. They say that more people travel at Thanksgiving time than at any other time. Did some of you travel? (Let the children answer.) Where did you go? (Let them answer.) Did any of you fly or take the bus or train? (Let them answer.) If you did, you probably had tickets like these. These tickets tell me when I leave and when I shall return. The day and time are printed right here. (Show the children.)
I thought of these tickets when I thought of how Jesus left the earth. He promised that he would return again -- but he didn’t say when it would be. We know he’s coming back, but we don’t know exactly when. It’s like having a ticket with no “return” date listed. The return will be a surprise.
That sounds pretty exciting to me. I like surprises. When Jesus returns, it will be a wonderful surprise and the best Christmas gift ever!
It might be like having your grandma or grandpa or aunts, uncles, cousins, or favorite friends come to your house -- only more exciting! It would be a surprise if they came unannounced. But if they would come as a surprise, you would want to be ready, wouldn’t you? (Let them answer.) You might not know just when they will come, but you want to be prepared. In the same way we want to prepare for Jesus when he comes to us.
The word “Advent” means coming. Jesus is coming -- we just don’t know when. Isn’t Advent exciting and fun?
Prayer: Dear Jesus: Come and surprise us. We love you and look for you to come. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 1, 2013, issue.
Copyright 2013 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
