THE GREATEST GIFT

A SERMON FOR CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas is a time of traditions, and every family has its own traditions, its own way of celebrating the birthday of our Lord.  One of the most beloved of these traditions is the opening of gifts.  Children especially look forward to the moment when they can rip open all those carefully wrapped, brightly colored boxes under the Christmas tree, rapidly destroying the tidiness of your living rooms with mountains of torn wrapping paper.  But of course, you don’t mind, it’s all part of the charm of Christmas, seeing the joy in the faces of the children as they open their presents, cherished memories that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

I hope you all received the gifts you wanted.  And more importantly, that the gifts you gave others were met with the appreciation and delight you hoped for.  For as we get older, we come to appreciate the truth of that old axiom that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  Nevertheless, Christmas is about both, giving and receiving, and there is no doubt that much of the joy of the season comes from this mutual exchange of presents, this annual reminder that our loved ones are important to us, as we are to them.

And despite the commercialism that derives from this tradition of buying gifts for each other, we should not be too dismayed or distracted by this inevitable side-effect of Christmas.  We should reflect, rather, on how this wonderful spirit of giving and receiving reflects the true meaning of Christmas.  After all, does mankind today not receive the greatest gift we could ever hope for, as our divine Saviour is born unto us, to bring joy to the world, and to save our souls from Satan’s power?

As we open our presents today, let them be that annual reminder, certainly, that we are loved by our friends and relatives.  But spare a thought too, of the immense love that God has for us, manifested by the gift he gave us on that first Christmas night, the gift of his only-begotten Son, who would dwell amongst us in this wicked world so far from his Father’s throne, and suffer and to die for us, so that we might experience the true and eternal joy of heaven.  And today, our hope should be that we will one day receive that final and greatest gift of all.  Our hope for heaven and our fear of hell, they come together today in the birth of God’s Son in Bethlehem.  The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee today.

Think too how badly we would feel if someone were to give us a gift, and we hadn’t bought them something in return.  It’s an embarrassment that is repeated so often every Christmas, and perhaps one of the reasons why the after-Christmas sales do so well.  If we think of the wonderful gift we have received today from Almighty God, that little Christ Child in his manger, how embarrassed should we feel this morning if we have done nothing for Him in return this Christmas?  If we have not prepared our soul to receive him in Holy Communion, if we have not offered up a Rosary in his honour, if we didn’t bother to obey the fasting rules of last week’s Ember Days?  Fortunately, God is very patient with us, and doesn’t mind too much if we’re a bit late.  So if we’d like to give back a little something to the generous God who has given us so much, even if it’s a poor afterthought now, we should still seek to do so.  We should give according to our means, whether it’s a little lamb like the poor shepherds, or gold and frankincense and myrrh like the three Kings.  But it should be something of ourselves, not just our wallet.  Something that can’t be wrapped in a box or tied with a bow.  We should make sure that whatever we give him is a true sacrifice, some small reflection of the sacrifice our newborn Saviour was to make for us.  Let’s spend a little time before the manger after Mass, and ask ourselves today what we can give him, and if nothing else, at the very least let’s not forget to say thank you to God for giving us his Son today.

On behalf of all the bishops, priests and seminarians of the Guild of St. Peter ad Vincula, a very blessed and happy Christmas to everyone.  And may the joy and blessing of God’s greatest gift of Himself come to each of you this morning in Holy Communion, and remain with you throughout the Christmas season.