Word for Word

Rev. Kevin Smith
United Methodist Church, Lansing & New Albin

I spent a lot of this week getting ready for Thanksgiving and the start of the Advent season. It seems that there is never enough time to get everything done and it is easy to get so caught up in the preparations that we forget what we are really preparing for.
By the time you read this it will be the week of Thanksgiving. One day set aside to give thanks; and still not even the whole day gets kept as a true day of thanks as some stores will open Thursday afternoon.
On Friday the fury of shopping will be in full swing for Christmas. People standing in line for the best deal of the hour, pushing and shoving to get the latest toy that our children must have, so that they can throw it among the other toys by the end of Christmas Day; forgetting they even have it.
Where does the meaning of the holiday go to? It is as if our society has become so obsessed with worldly things that even a day of giving thanks to God for those things is only a way to get more. Isn’t there a better way to praise God?
I’m not telling you that you can’t shop for good gifts at bargain prices; after all, my Wesleyan heritage informs me that we should save all we can so that we can give all we can. But I can’t help feel that we can do better.
I pray that each of you will take time to remember that what we give for gifts in this season is extremely important. We must be mindful so that the proper gifts are received by our friends and loved ones. Price is always the last consideration when giving the best gifts. But what are the best gifts to give?
For as long as I can remember it has always been a struggle to decide what we should give to each person. I have a few relatives that I have completely given up on trying to find the perfect gift for. Too many times the color or size is wrong. Sometimes it is just a matter of the wrong brand name on the gift. How did we get ourselves to this point? When did all this gift giving at Christmas start?
To be sure, the idea of gift giving to celebrate Christ’s birth began with the Magi or Wise Men. Sometime after Jesus birth they came and found the infant in the house where Mary and Joseph were staying. We do not know how long after Jesus birth that they came but Mary and Joseph were no longer staying in the stable.
They bowed down and paid their respects to Jesus and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The quantities of the gifts are not given in scripture but the intent of the gifts was obvious. These things were given as a way of honoring and praising God.

The gifts that we should give this Christmas should likewise be given as a way of honoring and praising God. It doesn’t matter so much the price paid for the gift as the value of the gift. Those things given from the heart have such great value that no price could be put on them. A gift worthy of celebrating the birth of Christ is a gift that does not simply store up for us treasure on earth but provides for us treasure in heaven.
For those relatives who have become too difficult to buy for I am offering gifts on their behalf to those who have little or nothing. How foolish it is to give more to those who have so much they become picky about what they receive when so many of God’s children don’t even have enough to live on.
Yes I will still be giving some gifts to my family but I will also seek to focus my gift giving on gifts that bring glory and honor and praise to the one whom we celebrate and worship this Christmas.
May the God who loves us so much that he gave us even his own life, bless you and keep you this Advent Season.