The Advent/Christmas season encompasses many things, but above all, it should include gratitude. Through the gift of the Christ child, we are recipients of the gift given to address our deepest human needs. The message is a simple but profound one: “God so loved the world that he gave…” (John 3:16) As we observe this season we cannot overlook this central thread that ties the Christmas story together. To do so calls us to respond in gratitude. Gratitude empowers us to make Christmas extraordinary. Henri Nouwen wrote: “Gratitude flows from the recognition that all that is, is a divine gift born out of love and freely given to us that we may offer thanks and share it with others.”
In 1872, Christina Rossetti wrote the words that later were set to music and became a hymn of the season, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” In the poem, she tells the Christmas story in a unique way and asks this question: “What can I give Him, poor as I am?” Her response to that question, an act of gratitude in response to the Christ event: “If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.” (Link to listen to the song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRobryliBLQ )
May you be blessed with the true gift of Christmas, and also find ways to respond in gratitude to God’s greatest gift of all.
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