Gifts
If I’m honest with myself, which I try to be in these posts, I have to admit that the days leading up to Christmas, those we call Advent, are among my least favorite of the year. Religiously they are supposed to be days of anticipation and hope for the coming Messiah. We sing “Joy to the World” and offer prayers of thanksgiving for this God-child. Secularly, we sing “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer,” and decorate our homes with miniature santas and ornaments. Mostly, however, we get caught up in an extravagant consumerism that saddens me.
I can remember as a child looking forward to Christmas, especially Christmas morning when my brothers, sister, and I would descend from our upstairs bedrooms to discover the great things Santa had laid out for us. One particular Christmas I was greatly disappointed in my gift. It was what I wanted, but turned out to be not as great as I had envisioned. I cried. On the day of celebration I was thinking more about my disappointing gift than about the gift of Christ. Christmas tends to still do that to me–I spend more time thinking about what I want or what I’m supposed to buy someone else than about the gift of love God gave us at Christmas. It is hard for me to find Christmas in the midst of all the activity and materialism.
I suggested to my wife that we dispense with gifts this year and just tell everyone we made a donation to one of our favorite charities in their name. Although in principle she may agree, she didn’t think that was the best solution. Sometimes I wish we could start all over with Christmas and ban all gifts except God’s gift to us. I’m sure it would do great damage to our economy. I’m also convinced Christmas would soon become a minor celebration that most of the world ignored. But I think I would certainly enjoy it more.
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