The Greatest Gift at Christmas

      When I was about eight or nine, as World War II was getting underway, my mother took me Christmas shopping.  In one of the large Pittsburgh department stores, in the toy department, there was a large wooden anti-aircraft gun with a seat on it and a wheel to turn it around.  I wanted that thing more than anything I could think of.  I never told my parents about it, but I told Santa at night in the silence and darkness of my bed.  On Christmas morning, I crept down the stairs knowing that large gun would be in front of the fireplace in our living room, and that it would be mine.

The living room had no gun in it, only the sparkling tree with unopened presents beneath it.  My heart sank in knowing that there was no gun for me.

It was, of course, a disappointing Christmas for me.  What I remember was opening packages with a sweater and probably one with a toy of some kind, but that gun was all that was in my mind.  I’m sure that nobody knew the deep disappointment that was deep inside me at that moment, but as the day went on, I slowly got over it.

What I learned that day was the limit of desire.  I’m not sure how I expected Santa to get that gun into the house, or what I would have done with it; but on many levels, I am glad that it didn’t happen.  I think that I never asked for anything so preposterous again, and as time went on, I think I began to wonder what might be a appropriate thing to ask Santa to bring me, or if really there was a Santa in the first place.

All of us grow up, become more mature and understand the world better.  As kids, I think it is a wonderful thing to think about the wonder of a man in a red suit with reindeer who brings presents down the chimney.  But that certainly isn’t the essence of Christmas.  Kids in extreme poverty think about Christmas differently and wonder where their next meal is coming from.  Kids with meals provided think about selfish things like wooden anti-aircraft guns.

So what is all of this gifting about?  What is it that we all want Santa to bring us?   Isn’t Christmas about more than gifts and giving?  Isn’t it really about humankind receiving the greatest gift that has ever been given?

When Jesus was born to Mary in a stable in Bethlehem, he was born into poverty and homelessness.  There was no room for his parents in the inn and we have no record at all of Jesus’ home anywhere.  It isn’t recorded how he got on in his childhood, except the story of his visiting the temple in his youth and being found there by his parents.

As his ministry began, he wandered all around the countryside healing and comforting, never staying in one place very long.  His disciples followed him and kept company with him, but their lives were lived without much comfort for them.  They listened to Jesus and marveled at what he did.  They learned from him and followed him because they couldn’t do anything else.  He was a captivating person with a deep faith that never waned.

We celebrate Christmas because it is the day of the birth of our Messiah, the incarnation of God who came to take human form and to know intimately what it means to walk this earth as a human being with the same yearnings and problems that we all face.  Often, we make a mockery of this by the way that we celebrate this colossal Holy Day.  I am certain that if Christianity disappeared off the face of the earth, that Christmas would go right on.  The economy demands it.  We need “Black Friday” after Thanksgiving and all of the shopping that goes on from that day forward.

There are certainly good things too.  Salvation Army kettles are outside our super markets, on the streets in the midst of the shopping crowds.  These provide funding for the Army’s excellent work.  Most churches have their pledge drives in the late fall, tapping into the hope that our charitable spirit will be touched in this season to help the church with its work.

But it is helpful to remember what giving is all about.  The giving of self is the key to understanding the depth of Christmas.  Our wealth is a small part of what is needed in this season.  Touching each other with our spirits is how we really give at Christmastime.

The point of the Christmas story is the giving by God of his only son to humanity for them to do with as they wished.  What we did with that great gift was to listen for a time, but to finally get so angry at him that we put him on a cross and took his life.  But the giving wasn’t yet finished.  God took that crucified savior whom we put in a stone tomb and raised him from the dead three days later, so that ultimately death was conquered and our salvation assured.

That is the great gift that our God has given to all of us.  Giving forgiveness and love to each other is a small reflection of that great Love that was provided to all of us on that first Christmas.  It is what Christianity teaches and what we all hopefully live out.  That is the only way that “His will can be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.

        May God grant you a wonderful Christmas and a joyous, happy 2012.