“The gift you have received, give as a gift.
“At this time of the year, when we are all busy preparing for Christmas gift-giving, these words of Jesus are essential. This is especially true since we are so focused on material gift-giving. Jesus is telling us that our focus needs to shift, because the “gift” we have all received-the one we are supposed to be giving– has nothing to do with ribbons and bows.
What is this gift that we have all received? It’s Love: the very essence of God. And coupled with this great gift of love are empathy, compassion, kindness, honesty, mercy and forgiveness. God has an endless love for all he has created. It’s a love that is real and eternal. It’s a love that never judges or abandons. It’s a love that sees the good within everyone; a love that reflects its own Christ-essence throughout the entire Universe.
We don’t have to look far to give the gift we have all received. We don’t have to wander endlessly up and down the isles of Macy’s or Target. In fact, we have to look no further than our own hearts. The greatest of all gifts reside there in the form of the Holy Spirit. Allow that Light to shine through you this holiday season. Allow it to begin now in Advent, and allow it to grow brighter into the Christmas season and into the New Year.
Love is the only gift – that I know of – that we can all give. We can’t all give big screen TVs, or shiny new IPads, or dream trips to the Caribbean. But we have all received the gift of love and we can all give this gift freely to everyone we encounter each and every day of our lives-not just at Christmas.
There is no greater gift than love because love is the only eternal gift. Today’s IPad is tomorrow’s old news. It’s exciting today and forgotten tomorrow. Love is never old news. Love is always exciting and life-giving, and it is never forgotten.
So, let’s do as Jesus says. This Christmas, let’s give the gift we have all received from God: Love.”
Charlie Wehrley, The Redemptorists of the Denver Province, Your Daily Spiritual Reflection – December 4, 2010.