Like most Catholic parents, every Christmas my wife and I try to remind our kids that the reason we give each other gifts is to imitate the wise men in their giving of gifts to the newborn King when they found Him. The gift of gold represents His kingship. The gift of incense reminds us of His role as our High Priest. And the gift of myrrh foreshadows the sacrificial death that Jesus would suffer on our behalf.
Yet the most meaningful gift is one that Pope St. John Paul II invited his listeners to reflect on during his Midnight Mass homily in 1996:
"The responsorial psalm of this liturgy proclaims: 'Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day' (Ps 96:1–2). And a Christmas carol echoes: 'Let all creation sing to its Lord.' This invitation to praise resounds with particular eloquence. Behold: all creation, which the Apostle Paul will describe as 'waiting with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God' (Rom 8:19), becomes a witness of the revelation of the Son of God in human flesh. At the same time, this is the beginning and the foundation of the revelation of those who have become sons and daughters of God by reason of the divine adoption to which all people are called.
What profound reasons for joy the Lord’s birth gives us!
St. Paul also speaks of these reasons in the Second Reading: 'The grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men' (Ti 2:11). The Son of God does not come into the world empty-handed. It is true that in the stable at Bethlehem He receives the gifts of the shepherds, but first He Himself brings great gifts. His generosity is indescribable: 'The loving Father offers us today ineffable gifts from heaven, as the Eternal Word becomes flesh, by His wondrous power' (Christmas carol). Precisely that priceless gift which the Apostle calls 'grace'—the gift of a share in the life of God, a universal gift, the opening of the path of eternal salvation—is the most profound source of Christmas joy."
Grace. That's it. The sharing of the life of God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1996) explains it this way: "Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature, and of eternal life."
This is the joy of Christmas. This is the joy of the mystery of the Incarnation. "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14). St. Athanasius puts it this way: "The Son of God became man so that man might become God."
This is really why we give gifts to those we love. We love because He first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). He emptied Himself, gave of Himself fully, so that He might show us the way.
So this Christmas, I extend the same invitation to you that a Deacon extended to me this past Sunday. Reflect on this simple question: What gift does Jesus desire of me?
The only acceptable answer is everything. He wants it all. He longs for every ounce that you have to give.
But how do we give it? By pouring ourselves out to those He has placed in our lives. By giving forgiveness. By serving when we are too tired to think. By offering up the petty annoyances and grievances that we hold against our friends, family, and coworkers.
Put simply: by loving others the way we would want to be loved (Mt 7:12).
Or, as St. John Paul II often said, to find ourselves through a sincere gift of self. To give and not count the cost, because He first gave of Himself to us on Christmas Day.
The tiny infant hands of Jesus carried the greatest gift of all to the world on that fateful Christmas Day over 2,000 years ago. They were aided by the immaculate hands of our Mother and the most chaste hands of Joseph until He was ready.
I pray that you and I may learn to better give of ourselves this Christmas and to learn to give and not count the cost.
Merry Christmas, and may His grace fill your hearts and homes this season.
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