Dear Family,
Welcome to all our visitors. If someone in your family ‘guilt-tripped’ you into coming, thank them. For one thing, we may need you more than you need us, at least at first blush. After all, this is the season of decorating and you bring a unique dimension to the family. For another thing, Jesus is constantly seeking ways to love us, and here, hopefully, we are letting each other see Him in Word, Sacrament and all of us, His Body, the members of the Body of Christ. That’s why He came.
The more amazing thing is that after He came the first time, he chose to use us to continue coming. Imagine. Us. That’s why he came.
There are a lot of histories of gift-giving that vary in time and cultures across the ages. I’d like to think that we give gifts today because they reflect our attitudes about the people to whom we give them. But first of all, how about considering that we give them in gratitude because we realize WE have been “gifted” by Jesus. That’s why He came.
As you think about the gifts you gave today, were you motivated by gratitude? Do you think the gifts you received were given in gratitude? That’s sounds like I’m asking you to be judgmental. Not so. Rather, I was just thinking about a present I received from a good friend. I haven’t opened it yet, but whatever it is I already was very touched and grateful for the time I know it took to wrap it. That’s why He came.
It’s been a while since I had any kind of problem with being tempted to place a monetary value on a gift. It’s been a while since I thought someone was a cheapskate. (e.g. cheap = miserly + skate = broken down work-horse.) Maybe growing up and getting a little – ok, a lot - older teaches us something about real values. That’s why He came.
Given the economics of Christmas when many businesses depend on Christmas revenues for a major portion of their yearly income, there is a strong interest in getting us to spend a lot. And to make sure it’s a lot, often I think advertisements work at making us feel guilty about not spending enough. “If you really love her, give her....” I ask myself how much of that economic is focused on the poor. Trust me, that’s why He came.
I think I told you about being a kid of maybe ten, and I had amassed a fortune of just under $10.00 and went Christmas shopping. I had a mom and a dad and a grandma and six siblings to shop for, and one of the happiest moments I can remember after all these long years, was that I did it, and was grateful for being able to give and not thinking about what I was “getting.” That’s why He came.
On the other hand, I also remember, with slightly less enthusiasm, trying to look very grateful for new socks instead of some toy. Knowing what I know now, it’s amazing just how far Santa stretched his budget so that all of us were included. How overwhelming the memories of just how much our parents gave us, very much rooted in love, not things, and we were lucky enough to know it. How heartbreaking when that’s not every child’s memory. That’s why He came.
There’s always a chance of over-romanticizing memories in situations like I’m in right now, espe-cially when we seem to be going through some distinctly non-romantic times. There is one thing however, that I can’t over-romanticize: the fact of God’s entrance into our human condition. God did it to call us back to himself through His Son. Jesus injects divinity into the human state, and that’s one memory that is unshakable. We are called to eternity. That’s why He came.
With gratitude for all of you,
in Jesus,
