A commercial for a luxury SUV caught my eye.  In the ad, a young mother comes home in her nice new car, opens the front door of her home and stares disbelieving at the scene of chaos within her house.  Her children and husband are running amok.  She quickly closes the door and retreats to the quiet comfort her new SUV.  The first time I saw the ad, I said out loud, “I’m with you, sister.”

It’s a very effective ad, playing on the need we all feel for a quiet place to retreat from the noise and disorder of our lives.

The second time I saw the ad, and every subsequent repetition, has made me a little less comfortable with my initial reaction to the ad.  I totally sympathize with the desire to escape the chaos her family was creating, but I began to feel a little uneasy about preferring a thing (the pretty, new SUV) to being with the most important people in your life.

The Psalmist mocks the inanimate idols that Israel’s neighbors worshipped, and warns that the worship of that which is lifeless renders people lifeless themselves.

     Their idols are silver and gold,
         the work of human hands.
     They have mouths, but do not speak;
         eyes, but do not see.
     They have ears, but do not hear;
         noses, but do not smell.
     They have hands, but do not feel;
         feet, but do not walk;
         they make no sound in their throats.
     Those who make them are like them;
         so are all who trust in them.   (Psalm 115:4-8)

Loving things that have no life in them robs us of the life that is in us.  Worshipping God, the author of life, brings us to life and draws us into relationship with all who share in the life that God imparts.

A comfy seat in a quiet car is a pleasure I could appreciate, but I don’t ever want to prefer some lifeless thing to the the messy, noisy, needy people who reveal God’s love to me. 

Prayer:  Living God, as our hearts turn to the story of a stable, a manger, and an infant’s cry, we give thanks that you meet us where life is messy and raucous and real.  Amen.