Presence Weekly 12/16/2024, "Advent: Packaging and Presentation"

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:16-33)

In our family, we take great care when wrapping gifts for Christmas. There are, of course, two important aspects to a well-wrapped gift in the Langer family. 

First, the presentation and packaging matter.

Now that our children are grown, they make sure to select the proper wrapping paper, measure and cut the paper to size, not use too much tape, select a bow or hand-curl the ribbon, and use an appropriate tag to ensure the gift gets to the right person (and that everyone knows who it’s from and gets the proper thanks). 

Yet, I miss the days when our young children would place a handmade or allowance-purchased gift under the tree, wrapped in misshaped and poorly cut paper, with “just a bit” too much tape and a label celebrating still-developing penmanship. 

Second, concealment and misdirection are highly valued. 

We all know the Christmas tradition of searching for gifts under the tree, picking them up, judging for shape and weight, and perhaps even shaking them, hoping to identify the gift before it gets opened. The greatest joy in our house comes from the gift whose packaging not only conceals the contents but misdirects the recipient as to its contents. The gold standard is a pair of Airpods in a shoebox with a large ziplock bag filled with sugar for extra weight! 

Our family is great at wrapping gifts, but no one wraps a gift better than our Father. 

The Gospel Story

After 400 years of waiting for a redeemer, our Father announces the coming of Emmanuel (meaning “God with us”) to a young, poor, unmarried virgin with a more than colorful family lineage. 

The mother of our Savior had a lineage that included a Canaanite prostitute (Rahab). Her ancestors also included a poor, homeless, widowed, immigrant Moabite woman (Ruth) and a woman (Bathsheba) who was taken by force and impregnated by a man (David) who would later kill her husband. 

The announcement of the coming Messiah would culminate in accusations of Mary’s infidelity against her future husband, promoting a quiet divorce to minimize the cultural shame. Only after an angel intervenes does Joseph agree to stay married and bear the weight of everyone believing he is a fool, with a wife who is, at best, crazy and, at worst, adulterous. 

As for the grand reveal, there would be no Ritz-Carlton birthing suite with a personal doula. Instead, the Son of God would enter the world to be “God with us” in a small, broken-down stable for stinky farm animals. 

We will attend Christmas Eve services that may include small orchestras, choirs, cutely dressed children, and even live animals. But let’s remember this: we are celebrating the birth of our Savior, and his birth looked nothing like how we celebrate it today. 

Many will celebrate Christmas this year with beautifully decorated trees, numerous gifts, and a two-week vacation before the newly elected Congress, whom we elected hoping for promised benefits, takes office.

The gospel exposes our preference for packaging and presentation, often over substance. This impacts our everyday lives, including how we navigate our engagement with the public square and the expectations placed on our elected and appointed officials.

The Nature of Gospel Packaging and Presentation

First, packaging and presentation are not concerning in and of themselves. However, because of their effect on our emotions, packaging and presentation are easily used to provide misdirection. We can become so captivated by the visuals that we overlook the actual substance. CarFax knows that a shiny, clean, and popular car does not always come with actual value due to flaws in the eye of the beholder. Knowing the past, unseen, accident, and maintenance history allows the potential buyer to make an informed decision. 

Campaigns and communications directors are all about packaging and presentation. That’s their job. That’s also why the phrase “buyer beware” exists. We should remember that, while not always so, packaging and presentation can often manipulate our vulnerability to deception.

The birth of Christ, however, contains two seemingly paradoxical elements. Rather than being born to publically recognized royalty in a palace, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is born to a carpenter in a stable. His birth was, however, proclaimed by an angelic choir. The Prophet Isaiah writes of the coming Messiah, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him (Isaiah 53:2). The intent behind any misdirection at his birth was not to mask a fraud, but to delay the full revelation of his role as the Son of God, who came to rescue his people from their sin and slavery. 

The Nature of the Gospel Gift

Second, every gift we receive at Christmas is temporary and often subject to decay. The dinner out gets eaten; the trip gets taken; the tie gets stained; the record gets scratched; the clothes get outgrown or go out of style; and the tech gets outdated. 

Everything servants and leaders in the public square offer us face the same reality. Their benefits are temporary and often subject to decay. Because of “how the sausage is made,” their offerings to us are often inherently flawed or watered-down versions of what we truly need for flourishing. 

In a brilliant scene from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” the knuckleheaded cousin, Uncle Eddie, tells Clark Griswold to “pick out something nice, really nice” for himself - with his own money. Later in the film, when Clark discovers that his much-anticipated year-end financial bonus is instead a one-year membership in the “Jelly-of the-Month Club,” Uncle Eddie proudly and ignorantly exclaims, “That’s the gift that keeps on giving all year long.”

Christ’s gift is far better than anything “real nice” we would pick out for ourselves. It is also one that, despite coming at the highest cost imaginable, the sacrifice of His Son, God provides it to us at no cost. Finally, the gift of God does not just keep on giving all year long. Because he is the God of steadfast love and faithfulness, his gift, like his promises, is forever binding and not subject to decay. The gift of God is redemptional from sin and eternal life with God. 

Matthew records in his gospel that Mary was told, “You shall call His name Immanuel, which means - God with us.” In his unending loving kindness, our Father packaged and presented the greatest gift of all in a way that could be received by all,

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8–12)

• Cabinet Agency: The servants and leaders at the Office of Government Ethics as they assist the incoming administration’s White House and Cabinet Agency in serving and leading appropriately in their new roles. 
• Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The team assembling as part of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) who will advise the new administration on potential cost-cutting and restructuring measures intended to maximize Executive branch effectiveness.
• Weekly delegation: The Congressional delegation from the state of Hawaii. 
• News: Members of the new administration’s landing teams are in numerous Cabinet and other government agencies as they begin the transition work. 
• Personal requests: Two individuals concerned about job security related to the transition. A family dealing with two sick children ahead of the holidays. Someone mourning the official dissolution of their marriage. Someone who was just notified that their spouse is seeking a divorce. Someone who just accepted a wonderful position that will use their gifts well. Three agency transition team members who are responsible for making assessments and recommendations on incoming staff and initiatives. 

• Read this first → After Babel (Jonathon Haidt’s Substack) has a time-sensitive and common-good focused opinion piece, “Congress Must Pass KOSA By Christmas. The Only Obstacle Seems to be Meta’s Influence.”
• Listen to this first → The Trinity Forum posted their recent Advent-themed Online Conversation: The Strangest Story in the World: GK Chesterton and the Incarnation, with Dale Ahlquist. 
• The Rabbit Room has posted a beautifully pastoral piece on how Advent can teach us about the passive and active parts of expectation: Is Something about to Happen?”
• Mere Orthodoxy has a great holiday-themed article on why “The Nightmare Before Christmas Is About Disenchantment.”
• First Things has a “wickedly” important essay on Hollywood’s increasing penchant for morally ambiguous evil characters, as seen in The Penguin, The Joker, and Wicked. The essay is aptly titled “Make Villans Wicked Again.”

• Monday, December 16, 2:00 - 3:15 pm ET, Brookings Institute presents an online conversation, Measuring productivity in an age of technological change.
• Wednesday, December 18, 10:15 am - 12:15 pm, The Heritage Foundation hosts an online event, Restoring American Wellness: How Can Policy Help Make America Healthy Again?
• Daily, 11:00 - 8:00 pm, The Downtown DC Holiday Market will occupy the street and sidewalk on F Street between 7th and 9th Streets, NW. Now in its 20th year, its bright lights bring Penn Quarter and Chinatown to life, providing a holiday spark to the neighborhood.
• Daily, 12:00 - 8:00 pm, The DC Holiday Market at Dupont Circle will feature 30-plus small businesses with artisans, boutique brands, worldwide handcrafts, and unique gift items from Nov. 22 to Dec. 23.
• Want to see lights, tacky lights? You can download Holly’s Tacky Christmas Lights map here! 
• Don’t want to drive? Zoo Lights at the National Zoo is in full swing.

Sorry ladies, the only joy you get from this recommendation is that it will take your shopping for that special male-someone to the next level of return on investment. 

A unique step beyond a department store and major-chain retailer and a price point lower than a customer-made suit, Andrew’s Ties offers an excellent selection of suits in all weights and cuts. If you’re looking for a stylish sports coat for a holiday party or cocktail event, this is the place! The 4.8/5 rating on Google is definitely a rounded-down score for the level of service that Henry, a long-trusted Washington clothier to those serving and leading in the public square, offers to everyone who walks through the door. 

Ties, you ask? Their selection is as diverse as it is high quality. From the very professional wide stripe necktie to the just-a-bit-cheeky selection of bow ties, Andrew’s offers a tie for every occasion. Of special note is that most of their ties are handmade in Italy. But wait, there’s more. The selection of socks at Andrew’s is unrivaled in Washington. Stripes, polka dots, mushrooms, elephants, donkeys, horses, and even patriotic prints. 

Andrew’s Ties has been making sure Washington is well-dressed for many years, even surviving the pandemic that hollowed out many businesses in Union Station. They are located on the upper level and look forward to meeting you. My favorite part of Andrew’s Ties is that Henry knows me by name and is just as eager to steer me towards something as he is to say, “Not for you.”

This is a hopeful picture of virtue in the marketplace of Washington.