Christmas is about gifts. No matter how often we hear the gospel or sing carols, it all comes down to giving and receiving gifts. Just a few hours ago many of you were still shopping for the perfect gift or at least making last minute purchases. For those who didn’t get finished they will have to resort to the checkbook. And many of us still have gifts to wrap. Let’s be realistic. Christmas is all about gifts.
Even the Christmas story is about gifts. God gave the gift of joy which the angels sang about. In the midst of ordinary life, people traveling, paying taxes, working, getting engaged, obeying the laws of the land, God gave the gift of joy to the world.
Last Sunday I celebrated a milestone in my life and many people came to our home bringing gifts. There were silly gifts, sentimental gifts, nice gifts, many great gifts. The best gifts in life however, are those that are spontaneous, the ones we least expect. They are the gifts that happen when we aren’t in control.
I believe that most people don’t expect God to bring joy to their lives. Our lives are filled with despair and problems. Sure, we hear the Christmas story about how God slipped Jesus into the world in a small corner of the world among ordinary people. But, what has it to do with us in the 20th century? God was real then, but is God still bringing joy today?
One of the gifts I received for my birthday recently was a book about the year l947. One of the favorite motion pictures was "Miracle on 24th Street." It even won an academy award. Do you remember when the little girl gave up believing in Santa? Her Mother told her she had to believe. In a half-hearted way she began muttering "I believe, I believe."
To be aware of God’s gift of love you gotta believe. In his book, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," Robert Fulgum tells the story of a young Vietnamese boy who paid a visit to a neighbor a few days before Christmas. The neighbor was feeling a sort of "humbug" attitude about Christmas when the boy knocked at his door. He wondered what kind of bad news was coming. When he opened the door he saw a rather small person dressed in a cheap Santa Claus suit carrying a brown paper bag. He said, "Trick or treat". The man fished out a dollar bill to put in the bag. The kid had a big grin on his face and next he said, "Do you want to hear some caroling?" in a singsong English.
It dawned on him who the kid was. He was Hong Duc, one of the boat people who had been brought to the U.S. by the Quakers. He was there at Halloween dressed as one of the three wise men. The man nodded as if to say, "sure go ahead and sing, but where’s the choir?" "I’m it," he said. Then he began to sing "Jingle Bells" at full lung power. Next he sang something that sounded like "Hark, the hair angels sing." Finally, he closed with a very reverent rendition of "Silent Night." Wet eyed and dumb struck the man reached in his wallet and gave the boy a five dollar bill. The boy returned a huge grin then ran off. As he left he said, "God bless you and trick or treat".
He shut the door and broke down in total hysteria. He was full of laughter and tears all at once. The joy of Christmas had finally come to him. It came, not in a manger, but through a little Asian boy named Hong Duc. He was confused about the details, but he was very clear about the spirit of the season. The one-manned Christmas choir, shouting "trick or treat" had brought joy to his heart. Now he believed in a God who can bring joy to our lives in amazing ways.
God brings joy to our hearts in ways we never expect. God’s gifts come in all kinds of packages. God’s love is not limited to one brand or type. Through Mary, God gave the gift of selflessness. Through Joseph, trust and faith. The angels gave the gift of comfort and joy while the shepherds gave their adoration. But, these gifts mean nothing unless we accept them.
One time I gave a gift to someone that I really wanted them to have. When they opened they said, "You didn’t have to do that." I was disappointed. I really wanted them to have this particular gift. I had thought about it for a long time. My heart was pounding when I wrote their name on it. How many times have you heard someone say. "That wasn’t necessary" or "You shouldn’t have spent so much money." Some folks just can’t receive a gift. When we can’t receive a gift, we discount the giver. We make the giver feel sorrowful instead of joyful. God wants us to receive the gift of love with joy and adoration.
The greatest gift was the gift through the Christ child, the gift of unconditional love and forgiveness. God’s greatest gift is the gift of a second chance, restoration to wholeness, reconciliation and redemption. We can never fully understand how God gives. We can only be assured that God is the great giver for whom we can never out give. God wants us to believe in the gifts God gives and God wants us to receive them. God also wants us to be redeemed by them.
I grew up in a family of four boys. Like so many homes, our home was filled with much excitement and anticipation as Christmas drew near. This particular Christmas one of my brothers and I were especially impatient. So much so that we decided to snoop and see what we might be getting for Christmas. My mother was away one afternoon, the two of us alone in the house. We began our search. After several hours of searching we discovered a catch of presents under my parent’s bed. Nothing had been wrapped and we took inventory with pure delight.
Christmas morning came. We were filled with enthusiasm as we ran down to the family room where the presents had been placed under the Christmas tree. We knew what we were getting and we could surely fake being surprised. After the rest of the family arrived we began to open our gifts. One by one we opened them. But, for some strange reason the presents we had earlier discovered had yet to appear. Perhaps they were buried under the other presents. My brother and I began to worry. As the morning drew on we became concerned. Still, no presents except for pajamas from Grandma and a model from my older brother.
My mother sensed the despair in our eyes, both of us very close to tears. Almost all the presents had been opened. My parents had always tried to be fair, making sure that each of us received the same number of gifts. Our two piles were very dismal compared to the others. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my mother make eye contact with my father as if to say, "something is not right here". My father left the room. By this time my brother and I had just about resolved that we had been caught red handed. The Christmas police had placed us under "snoop arrest." About ten minutes later my father appeared on the stairs carrying two large sacks of gifts. He said, "Santa must have left these in our closet by mistake." Everyone had our names on it. At this our hearts were pounding and we experienced the greatest gift anyone could receive, the gift of redemption.
My parents swore that they knew nothing of our earlier detective work. They simply overlooked part of our Christmas. What seemed a potential disaster resulted in an important lesson for two young impatient boys. Somehow the spirit of Christmas, God’s incredible love had worked in a wondrous way.
God never ceases to work in wondrous ways. Just as God blessed us with the gift of Christ over 2,000 years ago, God continues to bless us even now. Just how and when we may not know. We can only be assured that God will never cease to give. Believe in them. Receive them and be redeemed by them.
Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio