Christmas 2012 is past and the new year is ahead of us. Like many others, I’ll be making resolutions for the new year, thinking of things I could do better, lessons I’ve learned or goals I’d like to meet for the coming year. But before leaving Christmas too far behind, I’d like to take stock of the gifts that I, like the Magi of old, can bring to the Christ child.
The Scriptures say that three wise men, Magi from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. We don’t really know what it was that made them come searching, but they told the authorities in Jerusalem that they’d “seen His star in the east”. They’d been on the lookout. Perhaps they were aware of the promise of a king from the Jewish Scripture, of which at least some must have been familiar to those from the Persian court going back to the time of Daniel. Regardless, the important thing is that they were looking and they heeded the call to go.
We too, over the past five weeks have been looking forward to the coming of Jesus. What can I bring to him? I can certainly give my time and talents, tithe the money I receive, but the most important gift any of us can give is ourselves. That’s the main thing that Mary, Joseph, the shepherds or anyone else in the story gave. All of them came away changed. Each that witnessed Jesus’ birth had a story to tell others. In the anticipation of Christmas we celebrate as Advent, we too are witnesses. What story do we, do I take back to my friends, coworkers and family?
Christmas is a season of giving, but it’s also a season of taking and partaking. We partake in the miracle of the coming of God into our world and we take something away from experiencing that miracle. For a world that is geared toward cynicism and strife, this yearly cycle brings hope and hopefully, change in our lives. If it doesn’t, then we give ourselves over to the consumerism and materialism of those around us, the season becoming a hollow charade rather than a time of wonder.
In “The Gift of the Magi”, O. Henry tells of a young couple who are very poor, just getting by. He has a gold pocket watch that was passed down to him and she lovely long hair. He wants a chain for his watch and she wants a decorative comb for her hair. In a stunning piece of irony, she sells her hair to buy him the chain and he sells his watch to buy her the comb, gifts given for things that no longer exist. 
But their love is proved in their willingness to sacrifice for each other, something we see in a far broader sense in Christmas. God sacrifices in becoming Man, and we sacrifice in giving ourselves to him, a cycle of giving, receiving and giving.
That’s what I’m thinking of as I enter 2013, giving, gifts and sacrifice. That should keep me busy all the way to Easter…
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