One of the major icons of the Advent season that we commence this weekend is John the Baptist, that enigmatic figure who served as the precursor to Jesus, calling upon people to repent and prepare for the one the strap of whose sandals "I am not worthy to loosen."
In response to John's message, the crowd asked, "'What then should we do?' He said to them in reply, 'Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise'" (Luke 3:10-11).
What a timely message for us during Advent as we prepare for Christ's coming, both His imminent coming in the Christmas feast and His final coming in power and glory. It is a timely message, given the unbridled commercialism within our society, which, in particular, has become so associated with our observance of Christmas.
Consumerism
Yes, we in this nation have very much fallen prey to the insidious ravages of consumerism: a passion for material things which is sweeping our land.
For example, a recent article in The New York Times cited a study conducted by the National Association of Homebuilders which reveals that American homes keep getting bigger. The average new house in the United States today is 50 percent larger than it was in 1970. Yet the amazing thing is that family size has declined by at least 20 percent in this same period of time. The median price of a new home has risen to $151,127, almost three times as much as in 1978, and new homes are much more likely to have a two or three-car garage, central air conditioning and extra bathrooms.
Bigger and better?
Sociologists tell us that bigger refrigerators, sprawling airports and shopping malls as well as bicycles with a minimum of 21 speeds are a reflection of the "bigger, and, therefore, better" syndrome that has become such a part of our national psyche.
Perhaps the greatest symbol of this trend is the oversized SUV minivan or pickup truck, which very often is transporting only one person and no goods. These gas-guzzling behemoths not only utilize an inordinate amount of the dwindling supply of fossil fuel without regard for future generations but also emit greenhouse gases which exacerbate the problem of global warming.
Most disturbing of all is the intensified effort on the part of corporate America to promote the consumer habit of teenagers, a group projected to spend a staggering $155 billion this year.
Teenager Research Unlimited, a market research firm, projects that 31.6 million Americans from ages 12-19 will spend $108 billion dollars of their own money in 2000, along with $47 billion of their family funds. Households with one or more teenagers spend $10,000 more per year than those without any. This targeting of the teen market bodes ill for combating consumerism in the new millennium.
Papal crusade
Is it any wonder, then, that Pope John Paul II has been crusading against the dangers of consumerism? In his magnificent encyclical "Centisimus Annus," our Holy Father lamented that consumerism which he described as exhausting.
He pointed out that we in the West, in particular, are sculpted and shaped from cradle to grave to live and act as consumers. We are bombarded incessantly with high-powered advertising techniques that seek to define and create more and greater need: the superfluous becomes the convenient, the convenient becomes the necessary, and the necessary becomes the indispensable.
Moreover, those high-powered advertising techniques seek not only to create and define more and greater needs, but also to shape the attitude and the personality of the consumer. The self becomes the center of the universe; other people, things to serve one's needs; the norm, efficiency; the means, whatever works, let the chips fall where they may: unethical business practices, abortion, adultery, euthanasia, or whatever else suits one's convenience.
Gospel values
That is why we need to break away from the lifestyle of high consumption, of wasteful depletion of resources, and of the affluent use of service and leisure that abound within our society, so that we can truly listen to what Gospel values have to say.
Gospel values tell us that we are all God's children; and that with respect to the goods of this world, we are stewards not masters. Gospel values say how blessed are the poor in spirit. Gospel values remind us that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Gospel values tell us that we should be content to be fed and to be clothed.
And while all would readily admit that these are Gospel norms and values, there are too few people who are willing to take the steps necessary or to make the sacrifices required to translate these evangelical exhortations into lived realities.
Our role
We, then, can make a valuable contribution in today's society by taking the initiative of offering an irrefutable counterwitness to the consumerism of our day by adopting a lifestyle that enables one to live with what is sufficient; a lifestyle that is less dependent upon status, prestige, influence and possessions, and that is more open and valuable in service to others; a lifestyle that is characterized by simplicity in clothing, diet, entertainment and transportation, and by prayers for, advocacy on behalf of, and service to the poor.
More specifically, as we approach the Christmas feast, there are all kinds of alternatives to the consumerism so associated with this season, such as:
* making our own gifts or holiday food,
* donating a percentage of what we intend to spend on presents to a charity that serves the needy,
* offering "coupons" for setting the table or some household chores, for a monthly backrub, babysitting or house painting,
* spending time with our family in celebrating Christmas traditions or discussing the meaning of Christ's coming in our day,
* doing some reading about the true spirit of Christmas,
* if we choose to purchase gifts, trying to do so in a socially responsible manner.
Gift of God
Since Christmas is a time to remember the divine gift God gave to the world in the person of Jesus, then, we as followers of Christ should be vigilant in not purchasing products made under less than divine circumstances.
Unfortunately, many of the clothes and toys that will be bought as Christmas gifts this year have been made by companies that exploit child labor in Third World countries or that violate the basic rights of workers in our own nation, offering them substandard wages and no health benefits.
To ensure that we are purchasing gifts which are made by companies that offer a living wage, decent benefits and safe working conditions, we might want to refer to the guide produced by the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice titled, "Conscious Giving: Steps toward sweat free holiday shopping" (call 773-728-8400), or consult the website of Catholic Relief Services (www.catholicrelief.org), which lists crafts made by people in developing countries in just and safe working environments.
During this Advent Season John the Baptist continues to cry out: "Make straight the way of the Lord." Curbing the exorbitant spending on Christmas presents and the parties accompanying this observance and purchasing gifts produced by socially responsible companies are concrete ways for us to respond to this perennial exhortation.