What We Can Give

Woodcut by Christian Rohlfs of 1910

The three kings brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.   They also brought their faith, their desire to find the king for whom the star in the heavens shone, and their willingness to journey.   They sought the Christ.  That’s all that is required if we want to be in relation with Him.   He already wants that with us.

What do we bring?
Do we bring Christ our prayers? It gives Him the opportunity to hear our hearts.
Do we bring our joys? He takes joy in our happiness.
Do we bring our worries? It gives Him the opportunity to take on our yoke.

Whatever it is we carry, we can bring it and place it before the altar like a prayer.

We can keep Christ company.  He never tires of us, even in our most distracted.  It’s an amazing reality.  God does not tire of forgiving us, of hearing our pleas, our needs, our wants, our hopes, and our distractedness.

He responds joyfully to our every step towards Him, any and all gestures, He marks, He treasures.

When my children were little, they’d bring me flowers they picked from our yard.  They were showing physically with all they knew, love.  Our prayers are the same for our Lord, they are all we can do, but they are all beauty, they are all love, they are all that our Lord desires.   It brings Him who needs nothing, who made everything, joy.

Again, it is astonishing that we can bring joy to the One who made us, who needs nothing.

That is the reality of the feast of the three kings.  We can imitate them, and bring all the things we have to God, and thus bring the savior of the world, joy.

Our Lord invites us to be part of the Holy Family, to bring joy to the world.
How?
By recognizing that all we can give is today.
The twelve days of Christmas are a liturgical season, but the disposition of Christmas is something that we should hold as ever present.  We should be about the business of making today joyful.

Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, instructing the ignorant, all of it is a means of making the world more like heaven, less fallen, by adding joy.  Praying for people, exercising mercy, forbearance, forgiveness, all of these are means of growing joy, both in our own hearts and others.  Life can be so much more than functional.

For example, tomorrow for my kids, is a snow day.  They could have sent an email or just announced it on the radio. That’s the way it’s been done.   Instead, our superintendent does this:

Joy involves effort and imagination, and this qualified.  My kids, even the seemingly jaded cynical teens, loved this video.