Christmas is gift giving season. We love to give gifts to each other and also to those who are in need. Have you ever had the experience when a friend stopped by with a Christmas gift on Christmas morning and you did not have one to give in return. You had already purchased all Christmas gifts, and that person had not been on your list. You awkwardly received and opened the gift. You want to run out to the nearest store and pick out something as nice if not better.It is so relevant that the celebration of Christ’s Birth in to this world is a celebration of gift giving. Jesus is the gift of God to the world. God Himself descended from heaven to come down to this earth.
Christians didn't settle on December 25 as Christmas day until the fourth century, and this choice probably had something to do with its proximity to the winter solstice or its position as the final day of the Roman Saturnalia.It was in the late third century, in fact, that the Roman emperor Aurelian established this date as a feast day celebrating the birth of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus), so it already had festive and quasi-religious prominence. Maybe Christians at that time adopted the same festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Becuse of the fear of persecution, they must have thought it to be safe. Now it serves to welcome the infant Immanuel, meaning 'God with us'.
Narratives of the birth of Jesus in Luke and Matthew differ. In Matthew, there are Wise Men coming from the East, a mysterious star, the massacre of innocent children by King Herod, and a flight to Egypt by the Holy Family. two other Gospels -- Mark and John -- made no mention of Christmas. Why was there no mention of Christmas anywhere else in the whole of the Bible? May be the date is not as important, as the event itself. It is the celebration of being a blessing to someone because of our presence in this world. Too many Christians regard their religion as a list of boxes that need checking. But all of them point to the presence of Jesus as the gift from God. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” v-14 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matt 1:23
We read in Matthew 2, that there were several groups of people who came to visit the baby Jesus. The magi from the East came with gifts to the baby Jesus. They brought gifts [The Magi] saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts. (Matt 2:11) The shepherds went and visited the baby, but we don't read that they brought any gifts.
Luke 2 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Each visit was a sign of giving the gift of their presence, meaning they brought themselves to the baby, that is the most valuable gift. We all encounter this situation in God’s gift that we celebrate and receive at Christmas. Receiving is a grace. When we think about the greatest gift God gave we begin to realize that our focus needs to change. Ou focus had been on trying to DO the right thing on our own terms. Rather it would be better if we do the thing on the receiver’s terms. The shepherds did not bring any gifts, at least not recorded here. But they returned with exceeding joy, singing and praising God. They don't seem to have that guilty feeling we have about not taking any gifts.
So, what is the significance of gifts? Everyone longs for the warmth and Wonder of a loving heart. Thats the beauty of gift giving at Christmas. We give presents fitting the individual. I think one of the hardest parts of living the Christian life is accepting and living with God’s grace and accepting that there is nothing we can do to repay God’s love. All God desires is for us to seek to love God and live into that love in loyalty, joy, and through our daily living and relationships.
God chose to be present himself among us. That is the greatest present we received. Gift of presence - (not “presents”). We long for the presence of our dear ones, no matter how old we grow. I have be away from my Dad and Mom since college days, even now I long for the presence of their warmth.
Christmas gift is about God coming to us and sharing the divine presence. He came to our loneliness, our desperate and despondent state to share His joy. "They will call him Immanuel Matt 1:23 --which means, God with us." And Matthew mentions it in the closing chapter, where he quotes these words of Jesus: "I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matt 28:20. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-3, 14).
The word Immanuel means "God with us." God sent His Son to be with us, His present was His Presence among us. We can never repay God’s gift of Christ. Often we try to make it up to God by doing good deeds, regularly attending church, and seeking to grow spiritually. Sometimes we feel so unworthy that we resist God’s grace. But in the end we realize that a gift is a gift. Gifts do not demand repayment; they are freely given out of love. All we can do is accept God’s gift with joy, then allow that gift — Jesus Christ — to become a part of who we are. If we take time to account for a lifetime of blessings, everything we are and we have, we will be thankful and give credit and glory to God. We receive the fullness of God’s love through the relationship we share with God and God’s people within and outside the church.
The greatest gift is sometimes being there. Tony Campolo, an author and a Pastor, tells of going to a funeral. By mistake he ended up in the wrong parlor. It held the body of an elderly man, and his widow was the only mourner present. She seemed so lonely that Campolo decided to stay for the funeral. He even drove with her to the cemetery. At the conclusion of the graveside service, Campolo finally confessed that he had not known her husband. "I thought as much," said the widow. "But it doesn't really matter. You'll never, ever, know what this means to me."
Most often those who suffer remember those who spent time with them. Someone who was there when needed, who listened, who didn't keep glancing at a watch, who hugged, touched, and cried. In short, someone who was available and came on the sufferer's terms and time. Let us pray for the strength to endure hard times, that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray that we can share with others the unconditional love given to us.
There was a shah who ruled Persia. He used to roam around the nation in disguise to find out the problems of his people. One day he met a person whose job was heating water for the people in a public baths. He sat in dark room by himself and did his job honestly. The shah visited this person frequently and started sharing his food. He was so taken by the love of this man. One day the stranger told him he is the Shah, the ruler of Persian Empire and asked that he can ask for any gift he wants. The poor man was choked with tears and told the Emperor, “There is no greater gift than you coming down to this dark room with me and sharing your time with me”. This is what we see in Christmas. The greatest gift is God “coming down from heaven” and living with us. “Word became flesh and dwelt among us” John 1:14
Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting. May God deliver us from evil, by the blessing that Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be children of God, and the Christmas evening bring us to our bed with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake, Amen (a prayer by Henry Van Dyke).
Comments
Post a Comment