Using well our God-given gifts
By now, most of us have carefully put away holiday decorations, consumed the Christmas goodies that filled the refrigerator and cookie tins, and found an appropriate place for gifts received. At this very moment you may even be wearing a gift you received and are thinking about the person who gave it to you!
Speaking of gifts: Whether we are talking about the ones we gave or the ones we received, gifts are at the heart of the holiday season. Having just celebrated Epiphany on January 6 — the day we focus our attention on the wise ones from the East who brought gifts to the Christ Child — I invite you to reflect with me on their story. Because the wise ones had a long way to journey, they most likely did not reach Jesus on the day he was born, or even while Mary and Joseph were still in Bethlehem, but eventually they tracked him down and presented young Jesus with gifts that seem rather odd to be giving to a little one: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Of course, the reason they gave Jesus these unusual gifts is because they were gifts one would give a king, and the word was that Jesus was going to be a king. What they did not know, however, was that Jesus would be a king unlike any king they had ever seen or heard of before.
I cannot help but wonder: What did Mary and Joseph do with those gifts? Did they use the gold to buy things they needed for themselves and their new baby, or did they give away the money to those who were poor — perhaps to the widows and orphans? Did they take the frankincense to the Temple to be used during worship or burn it in their modest little home in Egypt where they had fled for safety because King Herod had ordered all of the baby boys under two years of age to be killed? And the myrrh — a very expensive ointment-like perfume — did they sell it so they could buy groceries, or keep it and use it every now and then on special occasions? Or did they simply tuck away these priceless gifts to give to Jesus when he was old enough to appreciate their value and use them well?
Of course, we do not know what Mary and Joseph did with the gifts, but I raise the question because I believe what we do with the gifts we are given matters, and I am not just talking about the presents we receive wrapped in fancy paper with pretty bows. Think about the gifts God has given you: Perhaps you are athletic or musical. Maybe you are good with numbers or have a wonderful sense of humor. Maybe you love to cook or write or help other people. Maybe you are a quiet person and prefer staying in the background yet have a gift for drawing or fixing things or figuring out complex computer problems. Do you use your gifts in ways that honor our God? Do you use your gifts to help others? Do you use your gifts to make our world a better place?
As you consider these questions, let me add one more to the mix: What kind of gifts do you think Jesus desires from us? While I am fairly certain he is not expecting us to offer him gold, frankincense and myrrh, I am also fairly certain he expects us to give the very best we have, of ourselves and of our gifts. At the beginning of this new year, I invite you to think about what it would look like to give Jesus the very best you have to offer, to live each day in ways that bring joy to God and the people around you. There is so much at stake as we step into 2021. The problems that plagued our world in 2020 are still with us and the need to live our faith with both compassion and resolve is greater now than ever. Poet Mary Oliver posed the question, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” May we choose to answer that question in ways that change our world for the better, one person at a time.