The Gift of Love
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Why are gifts exchanged at Christmas?
The answer to this will vary from person to person. They will typically have one of five answers or a combination of them.
The first answer might be, “I am not sure. It is a tradition.” We should guard against doing anything without understanding the meaning behind it. We need to continually remind each other why we celebrate in the ways that we do.
The second answer might be, “Gifts are exchanged at Christmas because when Constantine became a Christian and made Christianity the religion of Rome, Christian celebrations were combined with the Roman celebrations. This resulted in the celebration of Christ’s birth being merged with Saturnalia, which was celebrated with gift-giving.”
The church, in an effort to redeem Saturnalia, transformed it into Christmas, and the gift exchanges now honored Jesus rather than the agricultural god of Saturn. They used the two acts of gift-giving in the Christmas story. The first is the Magi's gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus (Matthew 2:11); the second is God’s gift of Jesus to the world (John 3:16).”
The third answer might be, “We are following the example of generosity and kindness modeled by the 4th-century Saint Nikolaos, who is famed for giving gifts. We do this with the modern tradition of Santa Claus.”
The fourth answer might be, “It is a fun thing to do in the drearyness of winter and a way to get kids excited and maybe behave a little better. After all, "He's making a list, and checking it twice; Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming to town."”
The fifth answer might be, “We give gifts on Christmas to remember and celebrate the ultimate gift given to us - Jesus, the son of God. He is the true reason for the season.” This is the answer I was raised with, and it goes back to the redeeming work of the church in the third century.
Each of us will respond differently to the information presented. Some will focus on the pagan roots of the holiday and choose not to celebrate it, as the Puritans did.
Others will focus on Coca-Cola’s commercialization of Saint Nikolaos and the gift exchange, glorifying materialism. All this distracts from Jesus, the reason for the season, so they will choose not to exchange gifts.
Many will focus on the tradition of Christmas and keep celebrating it with all its trimmings because it is fun. They are frustrated with all the information they just received, or if not frustrated, then they dismissed it, because it is not important to them.
Some will focus on God’s gift of Jesus given to us, honoring and remembering that by the exchange of gifts, but will struggle to not have it lost in the hustle and bustle of the season.
What is the focus of exchanging gifts at Christmas?
It is a two-fold focus centered on God’s gift of love.
The first focus is on God’s love for us in John 3:16-18.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
So, as you are shopping for gifts this Christmas, be intentional in remembering God’s gift of Jesus to you. Also, remind the recipient of God’s gift of Jesus to them. May we be intentional in transferring the excitement of gift exchange to the ultimate gift - Jesus.
The second focus is our love sourced in God’s love. Turn to 1 John 4:7-14.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
1 John 4:10-12.
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:13-14.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
The giving of gifts is one way we show God’s love to one another. God showed his love for us in that while we were his enemies, he gave us Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin (Romans 5:8).
Now we will never be able to reach that level of sacrificial giving because we are not Jesus or God, and most gift exchanges around Christmas do not require a lot of sacrifice. Yet the lack of intensity does not excuse us from showing love through giving gifts. 1 John 3:16-18 makes that clear.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
In giving gifts to one another, especially those in need, we are acting out God’s love for us and for them. This focus needs to be at the center of giving and receiving gifts at Christmas, and frankly, all the time.
Go this Christmas season, celebrating God’s gift of love with the exchange of gifts, focusing on God’s gift of Jesus, expressed in the giving of gifts.
