MORE THAN ENOUGH

The season of giving and receiving of gifts is well upon us. It is the time of year to take stock of all the blessings for which we have been graced by God to receive even though we have done nothing to merit them and much that would disqualify us from ever being considered to be a recipient. But grateful we are for what we have been given and for what we are able to give in return.

The most important and most valuable gifts that we give and receive, however, cannot be placed in a box and wrapped with colorful paper and then secured with fancy ribbon, topped with a bow. Those gifts are the gifts of love, the giving of ourselves in one way or another to an other, to others, freely and without any expectation of a similar gift in return. Even though to love and to be loved in return is the greatest gift we can give, all too often we forget this truth.

Why? Perhaps it is because we live in a world driven by consumerism. We are material people more than spiritual people, or so it seems. The Christmas season of material gift giving is one only example. It pervades our entire existence. One of my biggest gripes is that when I am invited to dinner, for instance, or invite another, a gift has to be brought as a way of saying “Thank you”, as if an honest and sincere “Thank you” is not enough. Drives me crazy!

Philosopher Ivan Illich observed that in a consumer society such as ours, “there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy.” It seems that we have become slaves to consumerism, materialism. We have too much but don’t think we have enough. We are addicted to getting more and more, bigger and better and we envy those who have what we don’t have.

We have more than enough of the material gifts, the material blessings. What we lack sorely as individuals and as a world are the spiritual gifts that can only be given and received in loving relationships. At Christmas we celebrate God’s giving of God’s self in Jesus. God could give us no greater gift and could give us no more. The giving of a material gift would have paled into insignificance.

Yes, it is fun and exciting to give and receive gifts any time, material gifts. Only a Scrooge would find fault, and we’re no Scrooge. Yet, the greatest joy we receive at Christmas family gatherings, at any gift-giving-receiving gathering, is what takes place in and around the opening of the gifts: the spirit – and I would add the Holy Spirit (God) – present in that gathering.

We do not have to give or receive material gifts to be blessed. We only have to be with those who love and care about us and we them. That is enough. That is more than enough. It doesn’t get any better than that. That’s what Christmas is all about. That’s what Jesus came to teach us and remind us. That’s what a parish family is all about as well.  Sometimes we take for granted and even forget what is most important in our lives. Christmas, even the gift giving and receiving, is a reminder that we should not, must not.