"Oh Lord Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz"

What’s the message here? I think it’s good news. You ask Santa Claus for stuff. Not God. And most of what we ask God for is stuff. God isn’t eBay or Amazon.com. God isn't a micromanager. In those times of my life when I’ve believed that I most need a break what I’ve asked God for is peace in my own heart and soul; I’ve asked God to not give up on me and to be a presence in me.

When things have been going well, I forget to thank God for the day, for my good fortune, for my happiness, for the loved ones in my life. When things haven’t gone so well, eventually I’ll get around to asking God for the “right things”.

I remember a time in my life about 20 years ago. My children were young. I was unemployed and devastated personally, psychologically and spiritually. I slept on the couch rather than with my wife believing myself to be unworthy of even the comfort of bed or of being beside my wife. I would pray each morning when I woke up, “Lord please take me today, please end this misery.” And things didn’t get any better.

Then I changed what I would ask God for in the gray dawn as my brain would slowly come alive, the household still and the world quiet. I would ask God to be a presence in me, to be with me and help me get through the day. And life got better. I quit asking God for stuff. And instead invited God to be a part of me.

That’s the Good News this Sunday.