Well, we finally finished all our Christmas shopping. Everything has been clicked, wrapped (well, sort of), mailed and hidden. We’ve bought gifts, sent cards, touched all the holiday bases.
On one level, it’s really nice to be able to connect with family and friends far away by offering a gift to say you’re thinking of them. At the same time, however, it seems that our gift lists just get longer and longer. School classes do white elephant exchanges with $10 gifts, there are the parties you have to bring one to as well, and you have to have your emergency back-up gifts for those who give you one unexpectedly. Can’t wait to see the Amex bill next month.
OK, maybe it’s my Scots-Irish heritage talking here (at least that’s what I’m calling it–since I’m adopted and may be Lithuanian for all I know), but all this gift giving can smack of obligation rather than inspiration. Racking your brain to buy the "right" present for an uncle you see once every decade is always a head-scratcher for me.
Why do we spend so much energy on gift giving at Christmas, anyway? Whenever I ask this question, people always tell me that, well, it’s because the wise men gave gifts to baby Jesus. OK…except the wise men came at epiphany and the gifts (particularly the frankincense and myrrh) were expensive ointments used in embalming, which some scholars believe were put in the story by Matthew as a way of foreshadowing Jesus’ death. You can almost see Mary and Joseph, saying, "Gee, thanks for the gold and, um, the other stuff…" Really, these are some creepy birthday gifts.
Then, think about this: they gave the gifts to Jesus, not to each other in his honor. Every year, people in our country engage in an orgy of spending on others and, when it comes to Jesus, the sum total may be a buck in the plate on Christmas Eve. Nationally, people will increase their Christmas spending by 9.1% this year, while the average charitable giving for a family in the U.S. is just 1.7% of net income. We’re spending more on stuff and less on the stuff that matters. Not that it’s just about giving to the church…I mean there are lot of ways that we could be giving gifts to Jesus–donating food, time, and energy with the poor. Giving generously pf your time, talent, and treasure to churches and agencies that serve others is really more in line with the spirit of Christ. When you really think about it, there probably shouldn’t be any "getting" of presents at all if it’s all about giving gifts to Jesus.
Now, I realize that I sound like someone who has recently painted himself green and moved to a cave in the hills only to come down once a year to raid Whoville of all its holiday booty. But that’s not it, really. I know that reversing embedded traditions is pretty impossible, particularly when it comes to things like Christmas and holly and kids and tinsel and all that. But allow me to be a voice crying in the wilderness for us to take a hard look at what we say and what we do as people who claim to follow the baby in the manger–the one who is most worthy of our gifts. He did, after all, come to give himself for us. That’s one gift we should always be grateful to receive.
