Tools Not Toys [Advent 3]

Luke 3:7-18

Ephesians 6:10-17

  

Every year I try to be careful about how busy life feels during Advent.  Between school functions, work parties, fundraisers, and regular meetings, December often feels crammed with obligations and work.  From Monday evening through Saturday evening this past week, we had a party or a meeting or a play or a school concert every single evening.  And so I’ve done it yet again.  We’re a week or so out from Christmas and I’m exhausted.  How are you doing?

 

On top of all that there are still gifts to buy, cards to send, checks to write to charities and causes we support and several pre-Christmas get-togethers before trying to see both of our families over the holidays.  I’m not at all sure that I’m living in the joy or the gladness that is supposed to characterize this special season. 

Not all of us are at the same stage of life, but all of us experience the challenge of managing our moods, our expectations, and our energy levels as we head into the holidays.  Some of us stumble into the third Sunday of Advent more than a little weary, overwhelmed by the pace of the last couple of weeks and worried about things left to do.  And what is it we hear?  We hear John the Baptizer screaming at us.  “You brood of vipers!”  (Merry Christmas to you, too, John).  I suppose he has my attention.  I suppose I am even open to John’s warning that we are not to let the busyness and sentimentality and obligations of this season distract us from the work of preparing, of watching, of repenting. 

Did you notice that three different groups respond to John the Baptizer’s preaching with the same question?  The crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers all ask, “What should we do?”  In this season of preparing and watching for the Christ, what should we do?  We are to share and be generous.  We are to be fair and honest in dealing with others.  We are not to take advantage of others for our benefit and we are not to distort the truth about others.  Perhaps the good news for us today is the reminder that the reason for Christ’s appearing is to call us to repentance and a new way of life.  It is not a demand to believe a list of things.  It is a call to begin doing things differently.

On Wednesday morning Marsha Hudson came by the church in Wednesday to check on Gayle after the loss of her father.  I get to see you all caring for one another all the time.  But Marsha has every reason in the world to focus on herself and her own journey through treatment.  And yet here she was, reaching out and connecting in kindness to another person with comfort and encouragement.  This is such a wonderful picture of what it means to live by a new set of commitments.  It can be inspiring when we see God’s grace making a difference in how we live together.

In CS Lewis’ story about Narnia, called The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a figure called “Father Christmas” who distributes gifts to the children.  It’s a wonderful scene, but you need a little background to know what’s going on.

Four children, two brothers and two sisters, were sent away from London to escape the bombing during World War II.  The siblings accidentally find a portal into a magical world, but they quickly discover that there is something wrong in Narnia.  They find themselves caught in a war between the white witch and her armies and the other creatures who are loyal to a majestic, talking lion named Aslan.  The White Witch has cast a spell over Narnia – it’s always winter but never Christmas.  But Aslan’s side is making headway against the powers of the White Witch, and for the first time in a hundred years, Christmas will be celebrated in Narnia. 

In one critical scene, the children meet Father Christmas, who is riding a sleigh driven by reindeer.  He has a big white beard and a bag full of gifts for the children.  They expected toys.  So they were confused by what he gave them.  “Tools, not toys,” says Father Christmas.  

To older brother Peter he gives a sword and a shield.

To older sister Susan he gives a bow and arrow, along with an ivory horn.

To young Lucy he gives a vial of healing potion, and a small dagger.

It turns out that the magical world of Narnia was indeed a place of wonder and beauty.  But it was also a place where those on the side of kindness, truth-telling, beauty, generosity, and goodness would have to fight for it against very powerful forces.

The story reminds us that Advent is a time to remember the sharp edges within the story of Jesus’ birth.  We direct our attention to the tension, the danger, the violence, the clash of powers. We feel the sting of inhumanity when there is no hospitality shown to Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem.  We witness the jealous violence of Herod the politician.  We grieve the desperate flight of refugees Joseph and Mary into Egypt and the homesickness they felt as they waited to return.  During Advent, we face the truth that God’s love is on the move, but it continues to lead us into one conflict after another.

God provides for us the gifts we need for faithful service, but they’re not always the gifts we expected.  Tools, not toys. 

I don’t remember most of the gifts I’ve received over the years.  But I remember some of them.  I remember the year I got everything Miami Dolphins – a big winter coat – teal with orange fur; a rug for my bedroom; a dufflebag; a sleeping bag; and of course a Miami Dolphins shirt (in which I had my official school picture taken).

For a year or two when I was young, I got a drum or two.  I think my parents were seeing how serious I was.  Then finally, when I was eight or nine, I came down into the living room on Christmas morning to a complete drum set.  It was used – but I didn’t care.  I set it up in the basement, put my favorite bands on headphones and played away, confident that one day I would be the drummer in a band playing in packed arenas.

Not all gifts were that magical or even memorable.  There were also practical gifts.  In my family you would get underwear and socks as a gift.  You would get deodorant in your stocking.  You got jumper cables when you were old enough to drive.  These gifts were appreciated, of course.  But they were things that were needed, useful.

Ephesians 6:10-17

The letter to Ephesians encourages us to imagine ourselves suited up in armor, ready to stand our ground.  This picture of ourselves outfitted for battle may strike us as silly, childish, and over the top.  If we have had any exposure to this text at all, it was likely in Sunday School or at Vacation Bible School.  When we are children, it provides good ideas for crafts.  The primary way we make use of this suit of armor language is to devalue them as toys, to belittle the image as a Halloween costume.

No doubt, the language here about suiting up in armor with shield and sword is picturesque language.  It’s metaphorical.  The images are meant to shape the way we imagine our lives.  So just for one minute, let’s consider whether this new and rather odd image of ourselves might illumine the challenges before us.

First, the image suggests that a life of loving God and our neighbors is a life caught in powerful conflict and tension.  It will be a joyful life, but a hard one.

Second, the image suggests that we will be tempted to make the mistake of seeing other people as our enemies and opponents.

Third, the image suggests that the friction we face in life is not other people, but evil powers that twist and distort life away from the love of God and neighbor.  There are powers at work in the world that get people in their grip.  These powers threaten what’s good and turn people against themselves and against their neighbors.  You can call this evil power “the devil” or “the evil one” if you want.  But you don’t have to.  Early Christians could also simply refer to these forces as “ruling powers,” harmful forces that distort our lives.

Finally, the image suggests that life with God is not passive.  It is powerful, vigilant, capable, and well armed.  You and I are outfitted to engage in defending this new way of life.  We have been given tools so that we can fight for the world of love that is coming to birth.  Some of us may not feel very well equipped for the conflicts we face.  But it may just be that we don’t recognize what powerful tools we have already been given. 

One of your weapons is telling the truth in a world of deception and misinformation.  Another weapon is peacemaking – that is, working at mending and healing relationships when things go wrong.  Your faith and trust in God is another weapon – by entrusting your life to God you are strong enough to refuse to give your allegiance to smaller things.  Even your salvation and God’s Spirit are part of your tool kit.  By seeing yourself as God’s friend in Jesus Christ, you will not be an anxious target for those who would peddle you a smaller life of hatred, competition, and selfishness.

We didn’t have any swords lying around our house when we were kids so we had to make our own.  We had a name for this brutal childhood game (undertaken far from my mother’s purview): “Silver Death.”  We would tightly roll up a newspaper and cover it in several layers of duck tape.  This formed a miniature club that struck the perfect balance between inflicting pain but not cutting skin or breaking bone.  When you got a clean shot on someone – a shot to the kidney, even a thigh – you could drop your opponent to the ground.  That’s when you had achieved “silver death.”  And when mom came in and asked why one child was writhing on the ground, we could pretend innocence.  There was no blood, and the bruises didn’t appear until a full day later.

Little did we know that in those make-shift sword battles we were preparing for life with God.  By imagining ourselves in medieval, hand to hand combat, we were engaged in a kind of pretending that would one day bear fruit.  God’s Spirit is on the march, taking new territory, persuading new recruits, and undermining the enemy’s tactics.  People everywhere are waking up to the joy of kindness, truthtelling, generosity, and contentment.  This is the conflict that comes to light in the birth of Jesus the Messiah.  This is the war between beauty and ugliness, between truth and falsehood, between kindness and hate.  We might not always feel like it, but God has given us a variety of tools so that we can play our part.  All the gifts we have been given make us strong, capable, and responsible.  May God give us courage as we continue to wait and watch.