Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. So you might imagine my confusion. Think about you being young fellow going to his own birthday party. You're impressed with all the decorations. Very festive. Over there is a depiction of what it was like on the night of your birth. Okay, sort of. But those trees. "What's that about?" you ask someone. "Well, it used to be symbolic of something. We just don't remember anymore." "What's with all the lights? What do they have to do with my birthday?" "Yes, those, too, once had a purpose. I can't recall." "And this mistletoe thing?" "Umm ... nope, I got nothing." But the gift-giving has arrived and you're ready for that. Except no one is giving you gifts. The guests are exchanging gifts with each other. Huh?
Of course, the truth is that gift giving was actually part of the first Christmas. There was the gift of God's Son Incarnate. There were the gifts of the magi given to Jesus and His parents. That's biblical. In fact, the Bible goes on to talk about God's children being given gifts -- the gifts of the Spirit. Gift giving is actually integral to the celebration of Christ. Still, it's not gifts given to each other. Like the symbolism of the tree and the lights and the rest of it, gift-giving has lost its meaning for us in relation to the Advent. At some point they all served as meaningful reminders of Christ. Today, not so much. Now they're nice things we enjoy without any sense of the reality we are recognizing at this time of year -- the Savior has come.
So I think of The Little Drummer Boy. I know. At first blush it's almost not connected, either. I mean, there was no little drummer boy in the story. So where does this come in? Well, the gist of the song is that this kid gave to Jesus what he had to give, and he gave Him the best he had. It's easy to get distracted from that. "There was no little drummer boy in the Christmas story!" But, in fact, there are several facets of this that are perfectly connected to the real Christmas. There is the fact that all of our gifts to Christ are, on their face, menial. There is the fact that the talent the boy had was a gift from God, and that was what he had to give. And, unlike what we do today, there is the fact that the kid in the story gave a birthday gift to the Birthday Boy, not everyone else. So this mythical little boy gave his best -- that which had been given to him, in fact -- to the Son of God as a gift for His birthday. And that's significant.
Maybe we can give that a try. We've been gifted by the Spirit. How about using those gifts to serve Him? We've been given talents and skills. Why not put them to use as a service to Christ? We have food and clothing and shelter and resources. Can't we offer them to God for His use? We have good works to do. Can't we do them in such a way that others "may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16)? Wouldn't it be interesting and even fulfilling to make a substantive effort to give our best to Him, at least at this time when recognizing His coming is the main point? Just thinking out loud here.
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