119:49-72; 49, [53]
Zech. 3:1-10 Rev. 4:1-8 Matt. 24:45-51

The Rev. Francene Young

On September 1st, the headline in the Washington Post Business section read: “How the delta variant stole Christmas: Empty shelves, long waits — and yes, higher prices. Supply chain hiccups and materials shortages are hitting retailers heading into the year’s most important shopping season.” In Psalm 49 v 16, we read;

Do not be afraid when some become rich,
when the wealth of their houses increases.
17 For when they die they will carry nothing away;
their wealth will not go down after them.

This verse reminds me of something my grandmother told me years ago. “Child, I ain’t never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul.” As we enter Advent, the season of Christmas gift buying faced with Christmas gift shortages maybe there is another choice as we wait for the true gift, Jesus, the Christ.

A family in my former parish came up with another idea. The family of 10 all agreed that they had enough stuff so they agreed to donate their Christmas gift money to the food pantry that served people in the community. Maybe, just maybe, the low inventory and the slow supply chain will cause us to pause just long enough to wonder, if we, too, already have enough stuff. Maybe, just maybe, we can share with others instead of acquiring more stuff that we cannot take with us.

God Almighty giver of the true gift, Jesus, grant us wisdom to know when we have enough as we await your coming to renew us.