|
Micah
5:2-5
Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45
Little
Anita has a very busy father. He is a dot-com technocrat
who makes a lot of money but has little time to be with
his family. Every night, however, Anita insists that her
father read her a story before she would go to sleep.
This continued for some time until the man found a
"solution." He bought Anita a colourful kid's tape
player and made a tape of her favourite stories in the
story book. Whenever, therefore, the child asks him to
read her a story he would simply push the button and
play back the tape-recorded stories. Anita took that for
a few days and then revolted and refused to accept the
stories on tape. "Why," asked the father, "the tape
reads the stories as good as I do!" "Ya," replied the
little girl, "But I can't sit on his laps."
One
thing that is associated with the celebration of
Christmas everywhere is giving. Christmas is the feast
of giving. Christmas is the one time in the year when
everyone is sure to give and receive a present, even if
be only a Christmas card. People spent a lot of time and
money shopping for the perfect Christmas gift. We put up
Christmas trees to surprise family members with our
gifts and to be surprised with theirs. Santa Claus is
the perfect symbol of Christmas because Santa is the one
who gives and gives and never gets tired of giving.
Christmas is a feast of giving even from God's point of
view. For at Christmas we celebrate the mystery that "God
so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may
have eternal life" (John 3:16). God gives, and the
people of God give, and that is Christmas.
If
Christmas is the feast of giving, then the question of
what to give and how to give becomes very important.
After all what is worth doing is worth doing well. How
can we improve on the quality of our giving? How can we
improve on the quality of our Christmas celebration?
Today's Gospel reading helps us to answer some of these
questions.
In
today's Gospel we read the story of Mary visiting with
Elizabeth. What gift did Mary bring to Elizabeth? We are
not told that she brought foodstuff, although she might
as well have brought some. We are told she brought just
one thing: herself. She gave Elizabeth the gift of her
very presence. And, dear friends, this is the best and
the hardest gift of all. It is easy to send flowers, it
is easy to send a parcel, but to give the gift of
ourselves, to make out the time to be with somebody,
that is the gift that many people long for but do not
receive at Christmas. Anita's father gave his little
girl a costly tape recorder and made tapes for her, but
he did not give her himself, his presence, his time.
Following Mary's example in today's Gospel story, we
must, in addition to the flowers and parcels, give of
ourselves, our presence, our time. We must find the time
to visit and be with people. This is the greatest gift
because its value cannot be calculated in terms of
money.
Another point we can make out of Mary's
gift to Elizabeth is that one should give not according
to one's convenience but according to the needs of the
receiver. It was not convenient for Mary to travel the
lonely, dangerous road from Galilee to the hills of
Judea. It was certainly for her an uphill task. But
Elizabeth needed a helping hand. She was six months
pregnant and would no longer be able to go and draw
water from the village well, to look after the crops in
her garden and the animals in her farm, she would no
longer be able to go to the market to do her shopping.
So Mary, as soon as she learned that Elizabeth was six
months pregnant went with haste and stayed with her for
about three months, meaning, until she gave birth. Mary
gave to Elizabeth what she needed when she needed it.
That is the perfect gift.
Do you know one thing everybody needs
today? Everybody needs encouragement. Everybody needs
the interior peace and joy that comes from the Holy
Spirit. This is what Mary's visit did for Elizabeth.
Mary's visit was an inspiration to Elizabeth. When we
visit people this Christmas, let us try to bring some
inspiration into their lives, let us seek to bring them
closer to God, and let us try to share with them the
Spirit of God in us, the Spirit of consolation, of
courage, of peace and joy, just as Mary did. |
