Every child knows the Santa Principle--good children get presents; bad children get coal. They also know the Addendum--no child will ever admit to being a bad child, therefore, every child expects presents.

Who knew the prophet Obadiah was familiar with Santa Claus? He had to be, though, for what he tells the Israelites is eerily reminiscent of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.“ God is making a list and checking it twice, checking to see who is naughty and nice, so we’d be better be good for goodness sake.

All right. What the prophet really said was--

As you have done, it shall be done to you;

Your deeds shall return on your own head.

Slightly different, but definitely the same idea.

What we do matters. There will be consequences for our actions.

Children all around us are beginning to think about how to present themselves to the Man in Red. They are making their own lists--the good stuff to be sure to emphasize and the not so good stuff they sincerely hope the Fat Man will kindly overlook. There is some self-assessment happening, serious and conscious. A balance sheet is being drawn up and the results weighed carefully.

All of us do that from time to time. Maybe we’re getting ready to go home and visit the parents, and we want to see just who we are as we go home--all grown up and worthy member of society, or…? It even happens in the corporate world. Some folks are wondering what the old Christmas bonus envelope will contain this year. Has this been a good year or not? It is interesting that some staff meetings carry an edge this time of year. The end of another season is coming. What will be the summation? For some folks it is the annual end-of-the-year health assessment. Have those clandestine trips to McDonalds come home to roost? The scale will reveal it all.

As you have done, so it shall be done to you…

The thing of it is that a good many of us are like kids in the presence of Santa Claus--we surely and certainly avoid the assessment that leads to coal. This is particularly true when in the presence of God. We, with a certain air of confidence, stand before our Maker fairly sure we are all right. We haven’t killed anybody recently. We only fibbed a little bit on our tax return. There was the moment a couple of months ago…but that can all be explained. There were reasons.

We tend to hear Obadiah’s prophecy in its more positive telling as the Golden Rule--Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. See? It is extraordinarily similar without the overtones of guilt and accusation. Christ surely had Obadiah in mind as he invoked the Golden Rule during the Sermon on the Mount. He had to. The statements are too close to be coincidence. He tweaked it, though.

Christ wanted us to hear grace as we assessed ourselves.

This lies behind the Advent prophecies we focus on as we get ready for Christmas. To help us prepare, we spend time with Isaiah and Jeremiah as they offer words of comfort and hope to weary people. God knew what God was doing as God prepared Mary and Joseph for the coming of their first-born using those prophecies. God wanted them to understand this remarkable birth first as an act of grace. Christ was born to save, as the carol sings.

But sometimes I wonder. I wonder if we are a bit too quick to jump there. Fear not! I am not about to enter Ebeneezer Scrooge’s sermon on the falsity of Christmas as a humbug that no one really practices as they should. But I do want us to consider Obadiah. His precursor to the Golden Rule, while much the same, is not the same at all.

He voices a warning.

He calls us to actually pay attention. God is good and grace does abound, but there are parameters for how to dwell within that state. First, consider why Christ had to be born. God sent Christ into the world because, as John tells us, the world was dark and in desperate need of light. Not much has changed if the news is right. War, fear, violence, apathy, hunger, and so on still live on the corners of our lives. God sent Christ to rekindle the light of hope, meaning, and love in a world that seems to live without them. Second, we are part of that world. No one is removed from the world or its ways. One of the most revealing pieces of writing to be released this year was the collection of journals of Mother Theresa. Here is a saint who knew all too well the darkness, even as she completely lived a life of faith among the poorest of the poor. Third, Christ’s entrance into the world brings God face to face with all of us. We often live as if God were galactically removed from our lives, so far above and beyond as to be irrelevant. Christ reveals God right here among us. God knows us. Finally, there is time to consider who we are and how we want to be in the presence of God.

This final thought brings us into the grace within Obadiah’s words. Yes, he is a lot more blunt than Christ in the Golden Rule, but the prophet is not hopeless.

As I said, Obadiah is issuing a warning. He still sees that there is time, there are opportunities, and there are ways to be ready for the impending presence of God.

That would be the very definition of Advent. Yes, yes, it is true that Christ was born 2000 years ago, and, yes, it is true we all know the full story and how it all ends with Easter. We just want our Christmas to be a celebration of gifts, colors, presents, Santa, and, of course, the music (aside--a radio station in Indianapolis set the record this year beginning continuous holiday music on OCTOBER 2!). But we need to slow ourselves down a bit. Last week, I asked you to exit the interstate and really see the little towns it races through. This week I ask the same thing, but with the intent of really seeing Christmas for what it is. Advent is the slow lane.

Obadiah thinks it a grand idea, too. Just as children begin to come up with the balance sheet for their status with Santa, so we all ought to do a little assessing as we get ready for the Nativity. Soon enough the angels will sing to the shepherds and the star will shine for the magi. They will rise and follow. To be with them, we need to think about who we are right now. What do we need to do to welcome Christ anew into our midst? Where do the shifts need to come? Remember, actions bring consequences. So how well are we practicing the Golden Rule?

See? The Santa Principle through and through.

Thank you, Obadiah. And thank God its only December 2.