Church today
This morning, I went to a Catholic church for the first time since my son was baptized. It was a work-related issue that I won't go into but needless to say, I was glad I was there. The pastor's comments about the beginning of Advent really struck me and I was glad he made them. Paraphrasing, he stated that we shouldn't be obsessed with the consumerism of Christmas and should instead understand the reason for the season. He stated at how shocked he was that people were lining up at 3 a.m. for a store opening at 6 a.m. and how people were trampling over others just to get a deal. He said that people were using shopping to replace spirituality in their lives. He even noted that he was getting caught up with "the stuff," instead of why we should be enjoying this time of the year with friends and family. You've gotta clean out that junk drawer full of stuff and let Jesus into your hearts, again, paraphrasing. At the end of the sermon, I went to talk to him for a bit, and he thanked me for coming. I did pull his ear a bit, mentioning that there was a Buy Nothing Day movement out there talking about similar things and that his sermon would have been more effective BEFORE Thanksgiving, saving the flock from the shopping mayhem that ensued. He agreed that it was a good point and admitted that he was getting caught up in it himself and that was how the sermon came to him.