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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
December 2002 |
Mini Homily:
God's Costly Gift
By James F. Morin
It is of great moment and interest to me that the multiplicity of songs, poetry, drama, culture, liturgy and giving at Christmas time comes from the one source of western awareness: that Jesus Christ is God's gift to the world. That thought under-girds everything we say and do at Christmas time. That one life pervades, colors and conditions everything at Christmas. I have seldom thought about how true that is.
It seems we tend to accept the good and generous myths that support and supply our annual celebrations of Christmas with scarce a thought of whether it is reasonable to do that. We talk, sing and preach about God's Gift to us. But does it ever occur to us, what God's gift meant to the one of whom Christmas is concerned?
From the day he took up his public ministry, Jesus left a trail of gracious deeds and immortal words. He scarcely did anything that was not for others' benefit. He was reviled by enemies, betrayed by friends and ill-charged by public officials -- all because he said that the Kingdom was all about treating your neighbor as yourself, putting others first. On this basis Jesus could well have said to God, "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to be your gift to the world."
The issue is whether Christmas is about receiving or about giving. If God is the source of giving, is it proper to think of giving God something? If we think of the One who was to come; who did come, is it all about what he gives? Is there no sense in which reciprocity is involved? I realize there is no way out for our culture than to go through the ancient rituals of celebrating Advent and Christmas with the stories told and retold for the two thousandth and one time. We will have our pageants. We will give our ties and scarves. And we will leave Christmas at that, as another holiday celebrated with family and friends.
Perhaps there is one more thing we could do this year. We could declare ourselves gifts to God. Instead of telling God all the things God could do for us, we might just say, "God what can I do for you?" And even as I ask the question, I know the answer: "Even as you have done it unto the least of these … ."
Last updated on 01/14/2004The Rev. James Morin is a retired minister from the South Indiana Conference, living in Indianapolis.