Gifts

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 As I sit down to write this edition, November is ending, December is beginning, and we are in the first week of Advent, 2022.  This is truly a time of the year where the battlelines of Church vs. World are very strong.

Advent is defined as a penitential season.  It is a time for prayer, quiet reflection and spiritual renewal.  It is spiritually just the opposite of what our earthly world envisions...parties, shopping for gifts, treats, getting filled with the holiday "spirits" and "good cheer".

As a young child, I remember that Christmas was a time for family events, but it was not on the scale of today's celebrations.  Easter was THE holiday.  Think about it... Holiday comes from holy + day and it originally referred only to special religious days.  Easter...The Resurrection of Christ... wow.   Some will say that hey wait...Christmas...The Virgin Birth of Christ...wow.  Yes, both events were indeed WOW moments.  

Somehow, the story that appears in Mathew's Gospel in Chapter 2 Vs. 11 "On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh", has been turned into a focus point for the need to give gifts during the Christmas season.

Before I continue, let me make something perfectly clear, I do not think there is anything wrong with gift giving.  I just think that there is at times far too much emphasis on quantity and too much angst about getting the "right" gift rather than the fact that the act of giving a gift is inherently the gift.

It is my sincere wish that as time goes on, we as a society will sharpen our focus during the Christmas season and keep our eyes on that bright shining star...Jesus our redeemer!

amen


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