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Christmas celebrates the mystery of divine generosity – God taking flesh in Jesus to dwell among us. Bringing heaven to earth. Heaven on earth.
So the writer of the Epistle to Titus proclaims, “When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared.”[1]
Where? Here!
However you view this story – fanciful tale, literal fact, metaphorical truth, or some combination thereof – the thing that matters is the reality to
which it points. Love incarnate. Love made real. A reality expressed through a symbolic act. Gift-giving.
So it is that we, historically, in keeping with this central action of the Christmas story, give, verily, exchange gifts – generally, with those we
know and love or, at least, like and that, at least, most of the time.
However, in God’s case, for God’s cause, the gift of generosity, God’s goodness and loving kindness appeared in the desperate and lowly estate of “a
babe…lying in a manger,”[2] a feeding trough for animals in a dark, dank, dingy stable. Moreover, God’s gift was given,
revealed first to shepherds, the least of the least in the social order of first century Palestine.
Perhaps, then, we celebrate this season best as we allow our generosity, our goodness and loving kindness to take flesh in our gift-giving
to those who have not. And in these days of economic disparity most dispiriting, these days of ever deepening inequality of opportunity, those who have
not are neither hard to seek nor to find.
Perhaps we celebrate this season best as we look within our hearts and without to the world around, searching for the intersections between our
interests and our community’s needs. When we find those places, let us give the gift our time and our talents. Our treasure is nice, but there’s
nothing quite like giving the gift, the present of our presence, making our love incarnate, making our love real in acts of service.
For those of us who already are doing it, continue. For those of us who have yet to start, begin. Mentor a child. Tutor a student, whether child or
adult. Teach English as a second language. Serve a meal. Visit the housebound or the imprisoned. Run an errand for one who no longer can run. The
acts of service, like God’s gifts and graces, are endless. So, too, are the needs. And as we respond to the needs, there the goodness and loving
kindness of God again and again appear, and Christmas can be any day of the year.
[1] Titus 3.4. The epistle appointed for the occasion is Titus 3.4-7.
[1] Luke 2.12, 16. The gospel passage appointed for the occasion is Luke 2.8-20.
