The Best Gift Exchange

                                      Merry Christmas! Christ is born!

            In our Community, in addition to phone calls and letters, we have the blessing of visiting our families once a year. At this point in my life, both my dad and brother have gone to the Lord, so my mom and I treasure this annual home visit with increased gratitude and expectation. Two years ago, due to complications, I was unable to visit my mom as planned. This was surely a sorrow for both of us, but one that tilled our hearts for a deeper longing and love between us. Our visit finally arrived. We had a splendid time filled with daily Mass, watching football, playing Scrabble, walks, eating ice cream and just good time together. The day before I returned to the convent, I presented my mom with a small gift. It was something I knew she would treasure, so I purposely saved it for this special moment. “Mom, I have a gift for you.” Her response caught me off guard. She gave me ‘the look’ filled with frustration and annoyance, “I don’t need anything.” Bewildered, I waited and looked into her eyes. With moistened eyes she shared, “You are the gift.” “I know mom, but I thought you’d really like this.” At this point, the gift I’d been saving for this special moment seemed trite. She did receive the small gift, but quietly whispered, “Remember, you are the gift.”

At Christmas, we celebrate that the Giver of all gifts has become The Gift – God

Himself living among us. We’ve heard this, we put up nativity sets in our homes, yet do we let this amazing truth change us?  On Christmas night, the angel announced good news of great joy to the shepherds who hurried to find things just as the angel said. They found a new-born child, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And this infant is God Himself, Emmanuel – God-is-with-us!

            This good news is what Christmas is all about. However, there’s a lot more that surrounds Christmas, especially in American and Western culture. I propose looking at the mania, the magic, and the mystery of Christmas.

The Mania: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, ugly sweater contests, elf-on-a-shelf, frenzied gift wrapping, grid lock shopping traffic, blow-up lawn decorations, accumulating debt to one-up the neighbors or to impress the in-laws…

The Magic: Christmas caroling and school pageants, making homemade cookies, rich family traditions, Christmas lights, joyful gatherings, visiting grandparents, snowmen and snow angels, cookies and milk for Old St. Nick…

The Mystery: God, the creator of all that is, has been, and ever will be, the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-creative, all-loving God chose to become a human. God desires to be with us from the inside out. God is not somewhere ‘out there’ or a vibe or an energy source or an ambiguous invisible being or a good luck charm. He’s not present in crystals, horoscopes, tarot cards and palm reading. Nor is He unconcerned, unaware, distant, and unrelatable.

God knows our human experience of life, family, friends, love, joys, sorrows, sickness, death, hard work, disappointments, seeking, waiting, questioning, praying, hoping, and everything else. He knows it from the inside out because he lived our human life.

            My prayer for you is that as the mania fades (with resolutions to handle things differently next year), and as the magic turns into heart-warming memories, may you live the Christmas mystery anew in your life each day. May you have the best gift exchange ever. Jesus is The Gift, Emmanuel, God-with-us. He desires to be with you and to live with you in all the circumstances of your life. And the greatest gift you can give Him is yourself. Remember, you are a gift too!

                                                                                  - Sr. Elizabeth Marie of the Child Jesus, CFR