Whoops I did it again!
All I Want For Christmas is To Win the Lottery...
Most people, when they look at a title like the one on this post, might think that the writer is just kidding, but I'm not. I really would like to win the lottery this Christmas. You can help by sending your unchecked PowerBall tickets to Christmas Guy, c/o DDW; 205 N. Upper Street, Lexington, KY 40507. For every ticket you send that wins over $100, I will arrange for you to receive autographed Daniel Bailey merchandise. Of course, you'll have to include your telephone number in order to win. In keeping with the spirit of the season, I'm willing to receive your tickets until January 6: the end of Christmastide. Please do not send tickets that you know are losers, since you'll just be wasting postage and won't really help me that much.
You might be wondering why I want to win the lottery. For starters, it would really be great to have a little money. I'm poor, and it would really help to make some extra income. But beyond that, I've never really had a whole lot of money, and I'd like to try it out and see what it's like. Maybe I can get a big SUV and do my part to contribute to global warming. A hot tub would be nice, since my arthritis really bothers me this time of year. I might even want to buy season tickets to some sports team or pay off some debt on behalf of my extended family. There are a lot of good personal reasons why I can use that ticket.
That's not to say that I'm just in this for myself. I have a lot of friends who probably have some dreams that might be realized any sudden dramatic improvement in my financial situation as well. You might even be one of them. Maybe I will go into politics and become twice as irritating as I already know myself to be. I have several charities that I'd really like to help, like this one, this one, this one, or this one, and because I think that the future is important, I'd be endowing some seminaries as well. I'd certainly support my church with the money, so anyone who helps me with this project would be contributing to a good cause.
And don't forget the children! Evidently, buying lottery tickets is good for the kids in whatever state you live, and that makes it a noble act, especially at Christmastime. They wouldn't lie to us about that, would they? Just remember to “play responsibly” as you try to help me out. Don't spend money that you can spend on more important things like candy, soft drinks, or DVD's.
Okay; I am kidding. Kind of. I really will take any tickets you send to that address and follow through, since I made that particular promise. I'm not here to tell you how bad lotteries are, since I suspect your church may have already done such a good job of this that you no longer tell anyone over there that you still buy them.
Here's the thing: While pretty much anyone would like to have all their financial worries swept away in one fell swoop, this has very little to do with God's plan for us, and even less to do with Christmas. In fact, since the whole idea of wealth is based on the notion that one person has a lot of things that other people do not, it kind of flies in the face of God's love for the poor to assume that God wants us all to be rich, or that God deliberately chooses to make some people really wealthy at the expense of others. In the movie Bruce Almighty, there is a scene where he is so worn out from playing the role of “God” that he decides to grant everyone's prayers all at once. Needless to say, a whole host of people won the lottery, and since there were so many winners, they all got a few dollars apiece, rather than a vast fortune. This made them very angry. Winning was not what they wanted. They wanted more. In the end, that's all that most us us want: more.
Setting aside, for a second, the commercialism implied with the exchanging of gifts, children provide us with a sense of both the good and the bad of Christmas in this regard. There is nothing quite so heartwarming as seeing a child we care about get that one special Christmas present that they did not expect, but has changed their experience of the season. The best of these are little things that the child didn't even know existed. On the other hand, there is nothing quite so heartbreaking as seeing a child sit amongst a pile of presents, complaining about the one they didn't get, or the one that came in the wrong color, or some other shortcoming in their gifts. When you're the one who gave the gift, or worse, when you think of all the children who get little or nothing, it hurts even more.
In the Advent season, many of us pay special attention to the fact that God has given us, among other things, the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love in the coming of Jesus. These are wonderful gifts! They're not to be taken lightly. They're not to be looked at with s sense of “disappointment” that you didn't get something “better,” or that you don't like the particular sense of hope you're getting this season. Most of all, they're not supposed to be looked at as intangible wishes that have little meaning for you outside of the context of the season. In a world that so sorely needs hope, peace, joy, and love, they are precious presents that we should accept like a good and grateful child of God. Like a good child of God, we should also share them.
Luke 1:39-56 contains a passage better known as “The Magnificat” a poem where Mary embraces the “good fortune” that has been given to her as the one chosen to bear the baby Jesus. While I would love to win the lottery and use my winnings to change the world around me, I have to admit that nothing I could ever win would compete with Mary's prize. Consequently, if I was to win, I might undergo all the negative affects that winning the lottery might bring, but the things that Mary had to endure would make anything I go through pale in comparison. She had to know that the gift of the Christ Child, indeed any child, was going to be a mixed blessing to her. Rather than complaining about having to have a baby, or not getting the kind of baby she wanted, Mary expresses gratitude both on her own behalf and on behalf of others who would be affected by Christ's coming. I don't really want to debate the historicity or interpretation of this passage, so much as to say that Mary's reception of the gift she was granted, dubious circumstances and all, was an example of the kind of childlike grace that we all hope to witness at Christmas.
So what do I want for Christmas? Lottery tickets are okay, for what they are, but I would really like some of that hope, peace, joy, and love that we promise on the Sundays in Advent. Sometimes, one or all of those things are in short supply. I'd also like to see the joy of some people who realize that God has given them much – in fact more than they had a right or reason to expect. If we could all become like children in appreciation of this unexpectedly wonderful gift, there is little more for which we could ask.
Bible Verses: Luke 1:39-56
Questions for Discussion
What purchasable item tops your Christmas wish list this year?
What are you most excited about getting for someone else (that you can talk about, at least)?
In what way is Mary's response to the coming of the Christ child like/unlike yours and that of the people around you?
What are some of the non-purchased items that you most hope to receive and why?
What non-purchasable items do you plan on giving and how?
In what ways can you ensure that the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love are given and received this year?
Most people, when they look at a title like the one on this post, might think that the writer is just kidding, but I'm not. I really would like to win the lottery this Christmas. You can help by sending your unchecked PowerBall tickets to Christmas Guy, c/o DDW; 205 N. Upper Street, Lexington, KY 40507. For every ticket you send that wins over $100, I will arrange for you to receive autographed Daniel Bailey merchandise. Of course, you'll have to include your telephone number in order to win. In keeping with the spirit of the season, I'm willing to receive your tickets until January 6: the end of Christmastide. Please do not send tickets that you know are losers, since you'll just be wasting postage and won't really help me that much.
You might be wondering why I want to win the lottery. For starters, it would really be great to have a little money. I'm poor, and it would really help to make some extra income. But beyond that, I've never really had a whole lot of money, and I'd like to try it out and see what it's like. Maybe I can get a big SUV and do my part to contribute to global warming. A hot tub would be nice, since my arthritis really bothers me this time of year. I might even want to buy season tickets to some sports team or pay off some debt on behalf of my extended family. There are a lot of good personal reasons why I can use that ticket.
That's not to say that I'm just in this for myself. I have a lot of friends who probably have some dreams that might be realized any sudden dramatic improvement in my financial situation as well. You might even be one of them. Maybe I will go into politics and become twice as irritating as I already know myself to be. I have several charities that I'd really like to help, like this one, this one, this one, or this one, and because I think that the future is important, I'd be endowing some seminaries as well. I'd certainly support my church with the money, so anyone who helps me with this project would be contributing to a good cause.
And don't forget the children! Evidently, buying lottery tickets is good for the kids in whatever state you live, and that makes it a noble act, especially at Christmastime. They wouldn't lie to us about that, would they? Just remember to “play responsibly” as you try to help me out. Don't spend money that you can spend on more important things like candy, soft drinks, or DVD's.
Okay; I am kidding. Kind of. I really will take any tickets you send to that address and follow through, since I made that particular promise. I'm not here to tell you how bad lotteries are, since I suspect your church may have already done such a good job of this that you no longer tell anyone over there that you still buy them.
Here's the thing: While pretty much anyone would like to have all their financial worries swept away in one fell swoop, this has very little to do with God's plan for us, and even less to do with Christmas. In fact, since the whole idea of wealth is based on the notion that one person has a lot of things that other people do not, it kind of flies in the face of God's love for the poor to assume that God wants us all to be rich, or that God deliberately chooses to make some people really wealthy at the expense of others. In the movie Bruce Almighty, there is a scene where he is so worn out from playing the role of “God” that he decides to grant everyone's prayers all at once. Needless to say, a whole host of people won the lottery, and since there were so many winners, they all got a few dollars apiece, rather than a vast fortune. This made them very angry. Winning was not what they wanted. They wanted more. In the end, that's all that most us us want: more.
Setting aside, for a second, the commercialism implied with the exchanging of gifts, children provide us with a sense of both the good and the bad of Christmas in this regard. There is nothing quite so heartwarming as seeing a child we care about get that one special Christmas present that they did not expect, but has changed their experience of the season. The best of these are little things that the child didn't even know existed. On the other hand, there is nothing quite so heartbreaking as seeing a child sit amongst a pile of presents, complaining about the one they didn't get, or the one that came in the wrong color, or some other shortcoming in their gifts. When you're the one who gave the gift, or worse, when you think of all the children who get little or nothing, it hurts even more.
In the Advent season, many of us pay special attention to the fact that God has given us, among other things, the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love in the coming of Jesus. These are wonderful gifts! They're not to be taken lightly. They're not to be looked at with s sense of “disappointment” that you didn't get something “better,” or that you don't like the particular sense of hope you're getting this season. Most of all, they're not supposed to be looked at as intangible wishes that have little meaning for you outside of the context of the season. In a world that so sorely needs hope, peace, joy, and love, they are precious presents that we should accept like a good and grateful child of God. Like a good child of God, we should also share them.
Luke 1:39-56 contains a passage better known as “The Magnificat” a poem where Mary embraces the “good fortune” that has been given to her as the one chosen to bear the baby Jesus. While I would love to win the lottery and use my winnings to change the world around me, I have to admit that nothing I could ever win would compete with Mary's prize. Consequently, if I was to win, I might undergo all the negative affects that winning the lottery might bring, but the things that Mary had to endure would make anything I go through pale in comparison. She had to know that the gift of the Christ Child, indeed any child, was going to be a mixed blessing to her. Rather than complaining about having to have a baby, or not getting the kind of baby she wanted, Mary expresses gratitude both on her own behalf and on behalf of others who would be affected by Christ's coming. I don't really want to debate the historicity or interpretation of this passage, so much as to say that Mary's reception of the gift she was granted, dubious circumstances and all, was an example of the kind of childlike grace that we all hope to witness at Christmas.
So what do I want for Christmas? Lottery tickets are okay, for what they are, but I would really like some of that hope, peace, joy, and love that we promise on the Sundays in Advent. Sometimes, one or all of those things are in short supply. I'd also like to see the joy of some people who realize that God has given them much – in fact more than they had a right or reason to expect. If we could all become like children in appreciation of this unexpectedly wonderful gift, there is little more for which we could ask.
Bible Verses: Luke 1:39-56
Questions for Discussion
What purchasable item tops your Christmas wish list this year?
What are you most excited about getting for someone else (that you can talk about, at least)?
In what way is Mary's response to the coming of the Christ child like/unlike yours and that of the people around you?
What are some of the non-purchased items that you most hope to receive and why?
What non-purchasable items do you plan on giving and how?
In what ways can you ensure that the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love are given and received this year?
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2:12 PM
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