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4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle C
Terranuova Hermitage
December 23, 2012
Receiving
Instead of Giving
By (Rev.
Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Some years ago the comic strip For Better or For Worse had a humorous
episode just before Christmas.
Mom and Dad and six-year-old April are shopping
at the mall. April is absolutely
captivated by all the toys, the decorations, and the glitter.
“Look,
Dad! I want it for Christmas! I want a ‘Wake-Up-Willy’ and a rocket
sleigh! An’ a real camera
an’...an’…an’…”
“Whoa!
Slow down,” he says, trying to put the breaks on the runaway request list.
“The perfect time to make a point,” he thinks to himself, “April, Christmas is a time for giving!
There is more joy in giving to others and it far outweighs any other
pleasure.”
April stops and without a blink, responds, “I know, Dad. But somebody has to receive or there’d be
nobody to give stuff to.”
Elizabeth and Mary
Little April, of course, has a lot of
child-like, self-interest going on here.
But April also leads us to a good insight. In truth, it is important for us to see
ourselves first as receivers and that insight will have real effects on us as
givers.
We know from the background of today’s gospel that
Mary’s cousin Elizabeth is an older woman, older for at least those times. She was probably in her 40s with an average
lifespan about 50.
Elizabeth and her husband have had no children
and now surprisingly she gets pregnant.
She sees this as a gift from God and knows that she is a receiver.
Mary is Elizabeth’s much younger cousin, just a
teenager. She doesn’t fully understand
the angel’s message, but she trusts God and sees herself as receiving a gift
from God.
So both Elizabeth and Mary see themselves as
blessed by God – as receivers. And, very
significantly, seeing themselves as receivers moves them both to be givers and also
shapes how they give to others.
Receivers
First, Then Givers
This may be a different way of looking at things,
but it is a valuable insight.
We need to live first as receivers, not exactly like
April in the comic strip, but as receivers from God hands. We need the awareness that ultimately,
everything in our life is a gift from God.
If we acknowledge at least to ourselves that all we have
received is from God and we can feel some gratitude for that, the that
awareness of receiving will indeed shape our giving.
Receiving
Shaping Our Giving
For example, this awareness that first we are
receivers will (1) Lead us to be
attentive to others and to give what they really need.
In the gospel, Mary gives her time and assistance to
Elizabeth when her cousin really needed it.
We might give our listening or empathy to a spouse
or child or friend, and not just a sweater or whatever the item is, good in
itself, but maybe not what the person most needs from us.
The awareness that first we are receivers will also (2) Lead us to give without our ego needs
getting in the way.
Again, in the gospel, Elizabeth praises and exalts
Mary as greater than herself, even though Mary is much younger and much less
significant in the eyes of others.
We might give an apology or recognition to a son or
daughter or an employee, without letting our need to be well thought of get in
the way.
And the awareness that first we are receivers will
also (3) Lead us to give with no
expectation of return.
Mary gives her time to Elizabeth and Elizabeth gives
praise to Mary – each of them doing this because they want to do it and it is
the good thing to do and each of them expecting nothing in return.
We might give care to our parents or a nice present
to a friend because we want to do it and it is good to do and expect nothing in
return.
Conclusion
So, it may sound surprising, but it seems correct to
say that Christmas is first about receiving and our giving should flow from that experience.
Elizabeth and Mary both realize that first, they
have received from God and this leads them to give. It also shapes their giving.
Our awareness that we also are first of all
receivers will also lead us to give and it will shape our giving.
It will stir us (1) To give what others really need,
(2) To give without our ego getting in the way, and (3) To give with no
expectation of return.
