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Connections. . .
Third Sunday of Advent
John was sent from God to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord.'"
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Great expectations
A few Christmases ago, Elizabeth Hayt decided to participate in Operation Santa Claus, a program started by postal clerks to answer the letters written to Santa Claus by needy children. Elizabeth chose five letters and prepared boxes of warm clothing and gift certificates. But, as she wrote in an essay last Christmas in The New York Times Magazine (December 20, 1998), "folly -- that is, my ego -- got the better of me. Inside each package, I included my name and phone number. As much as I wanted to give, I also wanted to whisper, 'It's me, I'm the one,' in the hopes of hearing, 'So, you're my Santa.'"
The following year, as she was planning to help five more children, her phone rang. It was one of the children who had received her gift the previous Christmas. The boy wanted her to know what he wanted this year. Soon, not only those who had received her gifts the previous year but their friends, as well, called Elizabeth with their gift lists. Her name and phone number apparently made the rounds. Instead of the joy and wonder she hoped her gifts would inspire, she felt angry, manipulated and besieged.
Elizabeth writes that the experience gave her a whole new appreciation of St. Nick's approach to Christmas.
"Making a sneak appearance in the dead of night, Kris Kringle delights in the pure act of giving. Secure in the knowledge he is doing the right thing, he never expects gratitude in return for his efforts and needs no one to commend him. This year, I will make another pilgrimage to the post office...but St. Nick has taught me a thing or two. The greatest gift giver of them all sustains the wonder of Christmas by concealing his true identity. He signs the cards, 'Santa, North Pole.' Likewise, the return address on my gifts will humbly say the same."
CONNECTION: St. Nick's approach to Christmas gift-giving, as Elizabeth Hayt discovers, is not only the true spirit of Christmas but it is the essence of Christ's call to us to be his followers. To be Jesus' disciples, to be witnesses of the Christ who comes means to seek what is good and do what is right for no other reason than the fact that it is good and right and to be satisfied with that knowledge alone. Christ calls us to find joy not in seeking our own joy but in seeking joy for others. As the God of love gives himself completely and totally in the birth of his own Son, may we find our lives' joyful fulfillment in giving totally and completely of ourselves to those we love.
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