Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46
Chris Rice, one of my favorite singer songwriters, in his song "The Face of Christ," says, “When we stoop down low and look them square in the eye, I get a funny feelin’ we just might be dealing with the face of Christ.” We forget this imperative from Jesus. If as, the old song goes, “(we) want to see Jesus, to reach out and touch him and say that (we) love him” then we begin with the least of these.
As the Christmas season quickly approaches, this realization is sometimes harder to hold on to as we get caught up in the consumerism that has come to define the season. Groups like adventconspiracy.org are advocating a change - a change from consumption to compassion.
What if this Christmas season, instead of giving presents to our family and friends, we put the same time and effort we spend shopping for and thinking about those presents into spending time with them - presence rather than presents, substituting compassion for consumption?
Take it one step further. What if, rather than spending all that money on each other, we spent the money on the least of these? What if, instead of fulfilling our perceived "needs," we filled the real needs of people around the world as our gift to our friends and family, by giving a family in Zambia a milk cow or someone in the Ukraine honeybees. That XBOX360 whose price just dropped to below $200 dollars will be yesterday's news next Christmas. The milk cow and the honeybees, which you can help provide for $50 or less, will be providing much needed nutrients for years to come.
Maybe you don't feel like you can afford to just "give" your money away, even if it is for a good cause. In financial times like these, many of us really can't. Just keep in mind, if it is bad for us, it is probably worse for others around the world. So, here's an alternative to alternative gift giving ideas: microloans. Groups like kiva.org are pulling together small (or even large) amounts of money from those who have to help out those who have less. It is an opportunity for those who are "the least of these" to, through their own inventiveness and hard work as well as the good will of others, better their lives through loans they would not have had access to otherwise.
Does all of this mean I'm suggesting that there should be no presents to open around the tree this Christmas and we'll just have to sit there and...and talk? (I know, sounds horrible doesn't it?) No, that's not what it means. Over and beyond giving cards to let people know what you have done for "the least of these" in their name, there are plenty of other ways to give that doesn't mean throwing inordinate amounts of cash at the large companies that frequently, through questionable production and employment practices, take advantage of "the least of these" around the world so that we can play video games for less than 200 bucks. Check out buynothingforchristmas.org, stopconsuming.org and sites like them for more information.
Let's put Christ back into Christmas as we seek, just as he would have, to help "the least of these."
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