Christmas gifts are often based on performance, with the idea that good behavior earns rewards and bad behavior results in punishment, like receiving coal. This performance-based approach is seen in the Santa Claus myth, where children are judged as naughty or nice. The sermon highlights the disappointment of not receiving desired gifts, such as snow for a white Christmas, and contrasts this with the often-unconditional nature of God's love and gifts.
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Who got asked that question this year? What do you want for Christmas? Okay, everybody got asked that question? Good. How did you answer it? How did you answer it, John? I don't know. You don't know. Gwen. You don't know. Did anybody know what they wanted for Christmas? I said I wanted a pair of slippers, and uh, because I got these ratty old ones which are kind of falling apart. And I got Christmas, uh, slippers too this morning. I said I wanted a sweater, and I got a sweater, kind of a neat one.
I didn't wear it today because it's not Christmassy color, but uh, this one's a bit more Christmassy. Who said they wanted snow for Christmas? Yes! Way to go, Lynn. Oh, and Anna too, yeah. We were disappointed that we didn't get any snow. It's been a long time since I've not had a white Christmas, so that was a little disappointing. Um... anybody say they wanted a million dollars for Christmas? No, okay, I was going to give it away, but if you didn't want it, that's fine. Now, who said they wanted a lump of coal for Christmas?
Heidi did. Oh. There's no diamonds in it, I'm sorry. It's just a plain old lump. It's pretty, it's tied up in a nice ribbon, but it's just a plain old lump of coal. So, kind of reminds me of, um, that s- story if you're from, if you're European, um, like, uh, Henrietta, she could probably tell you the story of, uh, in Holland where you put the, the wooden shoes outside your door, and, uh, Sinterklaas would come along, and, uh, if you were good, you'd get some candy in the wooden shoe, and if you weren't so good, well, you'd get this lump of coal. And uh, and then you knew you weren't so good.
I was reading a cartoon I found, uh, the other day, and it said it was two guys who were coming home from school, two little boys, and it was around Christmas time, and one guy asked the other one, um, do you believe in Santa Claus? And the other guy says, sure I do. And, oh, really? Why? Well, I'd hate to think it was my mother who put the coal in my stocking every year. But you know what coal reminds, reminds us of is, is that... is that it's a performance-based thing. If you were here last week, I talked about, uh, Sunday night, I talked about, um, Santa Claus.
I'm not going to sing Santa Claus is coming to town again, but the idea that somehow he keeps a list and there and and we hope that maybe, you know, he he marks on the curve and uh this idea of performance and uh whether you're good or not, naughty or nice, all those sort of things. And so you don't want to end up like this.