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The
Feast of Christmas, Cycle B
Our
Lady of Grace
December
25, 2017
Generous
Givers: God, Jesus, Us
By
(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
God
and Jesus Are Generous Givers
God is a generous giver. He has given us life,
relationships within a family, a circle of friends.
He has endowed us with natural gifts and opportunities in
which to use them to enhance the lives of others.
He has given us health and the blessings that come with
each new day.
Yes, God is a generous giver. In the Gospel of John
(3:16) we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.”
Jesus, a most generous gift; Jesus expressing God’s love of
us. Could God’s generous love be any clearer than that?
And
Jesus too is a generous giver in that he loved us so much that he gave his very
life for us!
Think
for a moment: Who would you love so much that you’d be willing to sacrifice the life of one of your
own children, or to offer your own life, to save another person?
Obstacles to
Giving
Friends,
it is one thing hearing (Point to ear) about
this generous love at Christmas time — and we hear it every year. It’s quite another believing it (Point to forehead). And it’s still another thing to experience
it as real (Point to heart)!
There many obstacles to our being like God in giving
generously, obstacles from my own experience that often block my generous giving
to others.
May I name a few? Perhaps they are yours as well.
A “Me first” attitude can certainly
be an obstacle to my generosity. In such situations I place myself and my need
before yours, and I become so absorbed in meeting my own needs that I am not
able even to see your greater need.
Then there’s scarcity. Here I think
I only have a certain amount of time or money, so I can’t stop to
talk, to give, to simply be with someone who has need of my presence to him or
her.
A popular obstacle to being a generous giver is judging
someone as Undeserving of
my time, money or attention. With the street person at the city traffic light
or the individual begging outside a department store, we think, “I’m
not going to give him a buck, he’ll just spend it on booze.”
A final obstacle to my giving can be my Mistrust.
The messages bouncing around in my head are: “I’ve been taken advantage of before.”
“I’m
sure to be used by that person; won’t appreciated it.”
This
kind of mind talk has a crippling effect on my ability to give.
At the end of the day, don’t we want to be remembered as
generous givers? Aren’t people celebrated for what they have given
back?
We know intuitively that there is joy in giving that
cannot be replicated in any other exercise. We see it in the smiles of those
who receive our unexpected generosity at Christmas and during the year.
So what we have is (1) God and Jesus’ generous
giving against, (2) the joy that our giving can bring us, and (3) the obstacles
that impede this flow of love.
Presents
versus Presence
In the 12 days of Christmas that begin today, I’d like to
suggest that you acknowledge the obstacles to generous giving, and break
through to giving, not just your presents —but your presence —to others
outside your circle of family and close friends.
Three situations over the past two weeks centered around
being present to others, making an impact on my giving.
The week before last, it was the elderly man to whom I
delivered a package for a friend while I was on my way to a meeting. He said he’d love to
chat a moment, but I brushed him off because I was on my way to a meeting.
All during the meeting I thought about him, so I circled
back after it and sat with him for a while. The gift of my PRESENCE brought a
sustained smile on his face and made the effort a joyous one for both of us.
Last Monday, it was the senior who’d had eye
surgery whom I haven’t seen for a long time and rather than just giving her a
phone call I invited her to join me for the free concert my parish was offering.
Picking her up, getting her out of the house and into an atmosphere of
Christmas music, became a time of great sharing.
Finally, instead of mailing my sister my usual check for
Christmas, I decided to give her an airline ticket and spend a week together.
Conclusion:
Growing in Our Presences to Others
Each gift of time, of presence to another, had more to do
with my presENCE to an individual rather
than with a presENT wrapped up in
Christmas paper and a bow.
In God’s generous love, in Jesus’ self-giving,
we see the movement from presENT (Demo a Box) to presENCE (Demo hands back-and-forth). It’s the gift
of generous love in relationship. It’s the gift of myself and being
with that person.
Surely there is someone in your life who is (1) elderly, (2)
infirm or (3) on the outs in your family who could be the object of your
generous giving in these twelve days of Christmas!
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