Spiritual Reflection and Discussion

I received the gift of a tea towel this Christmas with a printed message: if the Three Wise Men had been women, they would have brought a casserole, and practical gifts.

As was the intent, it made me laugh!

Yet it got me to thinking… what in the world did Mary and Joseph do with those precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh? They were gifts fit for a worldly king, given with noble intent. But they were not at all practical for a child born to a poor family, miles from home and travelling on a donkey and on foot. The Three Kings found where Emmanuel lay, but may not yet have understood where the treasure of Emmanuel lay. No gold, frankincense or myrrh required.

As Mary and Joseph did for the census, many of us travel each Christmastime, back to the cities of our birth. And after Christmas Day, after waiting in long lines at the post office, our gifts are there to greet us again upon on our arrival home, several hundred dollars later, and needing to be unpacked and sorted. Practical gifts being put into immediate use, and those more precious or “valuable” ending back in in their boxes and stored away for “some day”, or “that special occasion.”

But when we look back over the Christmases we’ve shared, with those still with us, and with those who have gone before us, what gifts do we still treasure? Did they need wrapping, shipping, packing and unpacking? Do we store them on our shelves, or in our hearts? How often did we use those we had deemed most precious? We may find that the most precious gifts were the gifts of presence, time , attention and love, and the faith-filled joy we shared with one another.

What precious gift can you share during this season of celebration of God with Us? And who is most in need of this gift? Sometimes the gift is in the giving. Allow God to fully give you His greatest gift this Christmas - again and again. And share it with those you love! May He bless you this Christmas season and always.

MJ Finkenstaedt, Parishioner and Staff Member