The Only Gift You Have to Give
Our unveiled gaze receives and reflects the brightness of God until we are gradually turned into the image that we reflect
-2 Corinthians 3:18
One of our country’s most insightful social commentators once remarked that as a society we’ve all gotten away from the “true meaning of Christmas—”the birth of Santa.”
Homer Simpson, in his inimitable way, points to the season’s frenetic call to action as we make and cross out lists, scramble to shop and wrap and mail, and often wonder, “what’s the point?”
Overshadowed by all the doing, our incarnated Being silently awaits the only gift we really have to give: our heartfelt attention. Not so much the focused kind of attention, but simple being-with-appreciation as when meeting an Old Friend who has faithfully been with us through all our adventures, waiting to be seen and invited more fully into our lives.
Our Divine Presence is itself the cause for celebration and the foundation for our giving and sharing, whether through secular tradition, religious ritual, or personal relating.
The flow of our being, which is love, will use any pretext for its expression–even Santa.