Above you'll find the audio of my homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Here are the scriptures I preached on - and the text of my homily follows below.
So what do you think you're getting for Christmas this year? Not what you’re getting for others - but on Christmas morning, what do you think you might find under the tree tagged for you?
Or maybe you don't put up a tree anymore. Or maybe you no longer exchange gifts with others. Or perhaps you no longer have others with whom to exchange gifts.
Or maybe the kind of person who tells everybody, "Don't get me anything for Christmas - I have everything I need!”
All of you above notwithstanding: suppose on Christmas morning, you wake up and find this on your kitchen table:
You probably can't see it - but there’s a tag here - and it says, "To you from God.”
A Christmas gift to you from God...
You know, at this time of year, I often try to remind folks that it's Jesus' birthday. He should get the presents - not us. But I don't think I'm reversing that caution if I suggest that Jesus just might have a gift for you, and a gift for me, a gift for each of us.
You often hear folks say that the first Christmas gifts were the gold frankincense and myrrh that the Magi gave the child Jesus after following the Christmas star to Bethlehem.
They're wrong.
The first, the original Christmas gift, came from God to us - and the gift was precious indeed. God gave us his only begotten Son. Jesus himself was the first Christmas gift. And Jesus himself was a great and generous giver of gifts.
He gave us the gospel - the good news of his father's love for us.
He gave us a new commandment that we love and care for one another - at least as much as we love and care for ourselves.
He gave us a new teaching on how to live with each other: in our families, in a community, in society, in the whole world - a teaching filled with truth and wisdom and sacrifice.
And in the end, Jesus gave us everything he had out of love for us. He gave his life for us on the cross. And in his suffering, in his dying and his rising, he gave us the gift of hope - hope for eternal life.
And after he rose from the dead, he gave us another gift - the gift of his Spirit - the spirit to live in our hearts and our minds to shape our desires, our affections, our choices.
Jesus is the original gift that keeps on giving.
And that's why I'm so sure that under the tree - or on your kitchen table - or in your heart - Jesus has a gift for each of you and for me, this Christmas.
And his gift to each of us will be the best gift we'll receive because nobody knows better than Jesus exactly what each of us needs for Christmas.
(Jesus also knows exactly what each of us might want for Christmas - but what we need and what we want are sometimes two different things. And Jesus knows the difference much better than we do.)
- So if what you need this Christmas is a gift of peace and harmony in your family, Jesus has that in stock.
- Do you need a gift of peace of mind? Jesus has that in every possible model and color.
- Do you need the gift of companionship? That gift has already arrived! He's already by your side waiting to keep you company, to talk with you, to comfort and console you.
- Perhaps you need the gift of relief from worry and fear? He's got that in small, medium, large, extra-large, extra-tall, and extra-wide – that’s for me.
- Do you need the gift of forgiveness? Jesus has that in one size fits all - except this time, it really does fit everybody.
- Do you need the gifts of faith, hope, and love? No other supplier offers these in the exquisite priceless quality that Jesus offers.
And in all of these gifts, there's free delivery. No hidden costs, no taxes, no shipping or handling charges. All of these gifts are insured and guaranteed by the Creator of the world, the Creator of all things visible and invisible.
Sound too good to be true?
Well, there is, right on this box here, on the bottom - a little fine print.
This gift requires some assembly - which means once you receive your gift from Jesus, you have to work with him to put it together in your own life and circumstances.
More fine print. This gift does not come with batteries. Gifts from Jesus require that you supply some personal energy for that gift to function in your life.
Oh, and there’s this: for two or three or more players. Gifts from Jesus are meant to be shared. The invite and require the participation of others in our lives.
Oh, and it also says here, No Returns. You see, Jesus really does know what we need - and he doesn't expect us to exchange what he gives for something we want. (And I'm pretty sure he asks us to trust him on this.)
And finally, this odd note: Gift must be unwrapped before using. It seems like common sense, huh? But you see, Jesus’ gifts won't matter or work or please us - if we don't unwrap them and start to use and share them. Many of us have received gifts, talents, and blessings that have sat unopened for years - under a little Christmas tree in our hearts…
Well, that's the fine print. But in very large, bold print tonight, the prophet Isaiah told us what I just preached: that God has a gift for us for each of us, and that gift is Emmanuel, which means God is with us.
Emmanuel, the promised one, the Messiah, the anointed, the King of Kings, the Prince of peace, the one who will come and make all things well.
In the Gospel, Joseph was about to receive a gift - the gift of Mary's child -who was not his own child. That was the fine print Joseph had to read - on a gift that he didn't quite understand, a gift he wasn't sure he wanted or needed, a gift he was (at least at first) slow to accept.
But a gift which he came to love and adore.
Sometimes you and I have a hard time believing that “God has a gift for me.”
Finding the gift that God has for me, accepting the gift that God is handing to me; opening, using, and sharing the gift that comes from God's own heart and hands - into my heart and hands. Even tagged with my own name!
If any of us here find it difficult to believe all of this, then let's pray and ask Jesus to help us see that what he gives us may not be the gift we want, but it will always be the gift we need.
Jesus gave us the gift of his life on the Cross: once, for all. But every time we gather at his table, at this altar, he offers us his gift - again. The gift of his life, his healing, his mercy, his presence and his peace.
As he does in every other gift he offers us: in the Eucharist, Jesus gives us himself, with all his love – because he truly is, the Gift, the Giver, who keeps on giving.
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