Gimme, gimme, gimme...buy buy buy...charge charge charge! Wow, I'm overwhelmed with the insistance to obtain, purchase, GET!In looking at the Christmas story in an attempt to get the dirt and sludge off modern day Christmas, I started look at the gifts listed in scripture. The first gift was of Spirit: uncondintional Love. The next gift came from a teenager named Mary. Her Christmas present was selflessness, the complete surrender of ego and will needed to bring Heaven down to earth. The gifts of her fiance, Joseph, were trust and faith. The Child brought forgiveness. Wholeness. Second chances. The angels' gifts were tidings of comfort, joy, and peace, the reassurance that there was nothing to fear. The shepherd boy's gift was generosity: his favorite lamb for the baby's birthday present. The innkeeper's wife's gifts were compassion and charity: a warm, dry, safe place for the homeless family to stay, her best throw to wrap the new mother and little one, a meal for Joseph, the donkey's fresh hay. All these gifts were wrapped in miracles. Oh what gifts. Gifts that transform the regular into the miraculous. Nothing from the mall can compare.
Unconditional Love. Selflessness. Trust. Faith. Forgiveness. Wholeness. Second Chances. Comfort. Joy. Peace. Reassurance. Rejoicing. Generosity. Compassion. Charity. Wonder. Acceptance. Courage. How many times in our lives to do we yearn for these gifts? The funny part is we keep looking for these gifts from people. Focus your search for these gifts in another direction this Advent season. The Christ Child brings it to you now. Be humbled and be loved.
It just wouldn't be Christmas without these gifts.
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