The Anointing

I went to a Christmas craft event with my brother and sister-in-law last week. He is studying at Covenant Seminary and this was an outreach event for them. The kids made Christmas crafts and heard the story of Jesus. It is always fun to be an observer versus running an event. This year they added new things to the event and it was better organized than last year. The pastor ended up talking to me at the end. During our conversation something odd happened. We were talking about how many services we have at Mt. Calvary, when all of the sudden he said, “Hey Will, we should get together. I would love to learn about what Lutherans do.” It totally caught me off guard, but it got me thinking. We, as Lutherans, are often an “exclusive culture” – meaning we keep to ourselves. We focus on the traditions of our families, friends, and church. Bringing people into that culture is a truly challenging endeavor. Even some newer individuals or families in the church have misunderstood its traditions and teachings of the past.

This weekend’s activity, the Trim-A-Tree Christmas Party, is a prime example. My first year we just said, “Come decorate the church,” and many of the people who had done it for years showed up. Why not new people?  Perhaps it was as simple as our younger families, or new families, didn’t realize this is the way the church ends up looking beautiful for Christmas. Maybe some just thought the pastor does that. Last year we tried something new – we made it a party. We intentionally told people what needed to be done and how they could help. We also added the key piece of fellowship – something that we love at Mt. Calvary. Last year’s decorating happened so fast that we had lots of time to fellowship. Mt. Calvary is not the only church that is challenged by this. All of my previous churches had volunteers decorate the church. Often it was like a secret. It was something members who had been there for years knew about, but not something everyone understood. If communication breaks down among members of a church, imagine how there can be a complete disconnect with people who are not familiar with the church.

The church is full of examples of communication breakdown. Everything from our language to our services can be challenging for anyone new to understand. That is why at Wednesday Advent services I try to remind us why we have this mid-week service.  It is for extra reflection and focus (not extra offering). Sure we can point back to November and talk about managing the treasures we have, and December allows us time to share those treasures with Jesus, but the purpose of the Wednesday night service is to keep us focused and prepared for the coming of Jesus. The world says we prepare with lights, gifts, and Christmas music. Even as I type this, I realize I haven’t put my Christmas music list on my iPhone to listen to yet. We are hit with so many things during this season that it is hard to keep it all straight. Yet we know our true preparations are for Jesus.

Have you taken time to ask anyone about their family traditions for the holiday?  Have you shared any of your own?  In Bible times a common tradition was anointing, putting oil on someone’s head to mark them for something special.  King Saul and King David were both anointed, as were many others.  In our culture today, anointing is not something we practice or typically talk about. So, imagine the jump it takes to understand that Jesus is the anointed one sent to save us. Not so easy. Our language, often misunderstood, could hold someone back from hearing the message of Jesus we want to convey. Part of our Advent preparation this year is to prepare for those moments and opportunities to explain what is often misunderstood. We ask ourselves questions like: “Am I prepared to talk about anointing? Do I know how to share what that means to me? Am I prepared to say why I would take time out to decorate a tree at my church? Am I prepared to define why my traditions are centered around Christ?” That may sound simple, but often it’s not. Maybe preparation for this kind of sharing is the key we’ve been missing. Perhaps it is time to stop and ask about someone else’s traditions, and look for those opportunities to share our own.