The meaning of Christmas is generally buried at Christmas under a mass of tinsel and trinkets and instead has become the celebration of consumerism par excellence. The World Has Too Much Stuff in more ways than one and what we value is what we build. Most Western Christians are (and I don’t know if I’m much of an exception) pretty much just like everyone else around us. I’ve long been convinced that working out how to stand out in regards to consumerism is perhaps the most important challenge and not the more straight forward one of sexual ethics. It has the benefit of being more sustainable for the planet, more secure for you (the less debt you have the more resilient you are to the ups and downs of interest rates and energy hikes for example) and it frees you to be generous.

Wanting less is not a bad place to start, practicing tithing is another good step (although many of us could & should give more), learning to live on 80% (so you can give 10 and save 10) is a commendable discipline, as is thinking through what it means to live simply. We have a below average (for Sweden) household income, yet we can give away 10% to our church, an additional 3% to various non-church charities and individuals, save around 8% and life works.

Yet I think there is more. I wonder if the missing ingredients is feasts. Ancient Israel gave a tithe to the priests but another tithe was essentially for feasting. It is this broad communal partying and inclusion of the stranger and the alien that I think gives the opportunity to not just witness but to put joy into the practice of generosity. So on Christmas Day we’ve invited our church to come to our house for lunch and then we’ll go to church together.