The Greatest Gift Arrives

Using logic, every year is the same length and it comes at the same date, yet where did the last 4 weeks go? Don’t we seem to say that every year? The preparation is over. The weeks of anticipation have passed and that brings us to Christmas. Let’s picture ourselves around the Christmas tree with family and friends and gifts stacked at our feet. When it’s “our turn”, what if we decide to take our gifts and place them in the corner. What would other’s reaction be?

We’ve heard the theme this Advent was to "Celebrate Differently" and as we discovered to celebrate —The Greatest Gift. We’ve heard about everything that comes with that gift, as well: HOPE, LOVE, JOY and PEACE. Yes, God has given us The Greatest Gift we could ever receive. Yet we may look past that gift to the material ones that lie before us. Often, The Greatest Gift does get pushed into the corner and buried by the wrappings we discard from everything else. Tomorrow comes and sadly, The Greatest Gift can all but be forgotten.

So now it is “our turn”. What are we going to do? Open the Gift. Jesus wants to be a part of our life. All we have to do is open the Gift! Then we’ll hear “…a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”

Christmas is unlike any other feast we celebrate. Sure, we understand the significance of Easter. Yet for many, the anticipation of Christmas is something we actually look forward to each year. In a strange way, we enjoy the frenetic pace that surrounds Christmas. We appreciate the reminder that Advent gives us to try and slow down that pace. And, we are thankful for the opportunity to set things straight with God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Our focus throughout Advent was to celebrate differently this “Greatest Gift.” We focused on weekly themes that Jesus gives each of us as part of that Greatest Gift: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. Today, all that gets wrapped into one wonderful package. The Greatest Gift has arrived! The challenge for every one of us is to open the gift. Jesus has come into our lives but we must open the gift! When we do that, we allow him to be a part of everything we do. He becomes the gift that enables us to embrace the example Jesus set forth in Matthew 25: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned. He becomes the motivation to see his face in everyone we meet.

We will never fully appreciate the value of The Greatest Gift. But, we can try to show our appreciation by using the gift. None of us knows what 2017 will bring to our lives. We do know, however, that whatever comes at us will be easier with that gift of Jesus by our side. With that thought in mind, I also want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Blessed 2017

WHO