MAY THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON BE WITH US ALL THROUGHOUT THE COMING YEAR!
Welcome on this day of joy. It’s great to be together for this celebration of new life that we Christians have participated in for over 2000 years. We call Christmas the feast of love, the day when the greatest gift of Love was ever given to the world. The rest of the year, we try to shape our lives around that love; but we also try to learn how to pass love on to others. Here’s a little story that might inspire us in that quest. Many Christmases ago, there was a woman named Eva, whose husband lost his job. They were having trouble making ends meet. One day while Eva was shopping at the market, the grocer gave her a large bunch of plump, beautiful purple grapes, as a gift. Eva’s first thought was her oldest son. “What luck! Grapes are Edward’s favorite fruit!” She couldn’t wait to get home and give Edward the grapes. At home, Edward looked at the grapes and his mouth started watering. But he immediately thought of his little sister, 7-year-old Grace, who was very special to him. Grace had not had many treats lately; Edward pictured just how much she would love the grapes, as he hurried to take them to her. Little Grace jumped up and down a few times because she did love grapes and they were so rare. But suddenly she heard her father, Robert, coming in after a long day of searching for work. These grapes would make him smile, she thought! So grace rushed in and offered him the grapes before he could even take his coat off. “Here, Daddy- here is gift for you, from me!” Robert was so tired, and the very sight of the juicy, shinning bunch of grapes given by his little girl did make him smile. And then he smiled even wider, just thinking of what a wonderful surprise these would make for his wife, Eva. She had given up so much in these hard times. She deserved something special. He hurried to find her, and put the beautiful bunch of grapes into her hands with a kiss. So, the gift came full circle, after all. Everyone received, and everyone gave. And, in the end, the person who generously gave out of love had the same gift given back to her. If you are privileged to be in a family or a circle of friends who give to each other with open hearts like this, then you know the true spirit of Christmas. Hopefully, that is how you chose the gifts you are giving out this Christmas! Our culture says “Impress her with diamonds” or “Give him a 90-inch TV if you really love him!” but in our saner moments, when we’re not hypnotized by commercials, we know that Eva’s story today shows how true love works. We know it’s love when we immediately rejoice at the thought of giving something we love to someone else. You don’t stop for a moment to count the cost. That is the story, in a nutshell, of how Christmas came to be: The whole creation was blown apart by sin; life was fragmented with suffering, loss and death. The God of love planned to bring us all back together into safekeeping in God’s own heart, for eternity, by giving Jesus, God’s only son, to the world. It is a mysterious plan, one that we do not always understand. If God has a blueprint, we definitely do not see it all at once before our eyes. But Christmas Day is our evidence that God’s plan is unfolding in the very details of our days- Jesus is in the house! And we are here to celebrate that fact. So, today marks a new year of hope, no matter what loss, or grief, or sin we find ourselves in right now. Some of us here are carrying very heavy burdens. But Jesus is born! Jesus is our everyday hope. Through him God’s plan of self-giving love is leading full-circle to forgiveness and new life, and the defeat of everything that is deadly and evil. The whole spirit of Christmas turns on the Christ-like giving of love that we see in Eva’s story. For her it was grapes; for us, it’s not really the cars and computers and toys. Let us ask, “What is deep in my heart, yearning to pour out to others?” Is it the gift of time with your parents or a sister or a brother who misses you? Is it phone calls to out-of-touch friends? Is it playing your guitar in a homeless shelter, leading songs in a children’s home? One woman took a walk in an old neighborhood and discovered a community center badly in need of some simple help. If you want to carry Christmas with you every day—put the full circle of love into action every way you can. God loves you! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Center for Good Governance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/center-for-good-governance?hl=en.
