Gratitude during Christmas

Friday, Dec. 09, 2016

During this time of the year, which the Church calls Advent but the secular world knows as the pre-Christmas shopping season, Christians experience a profound tension. The Church urges us to prepare for Christ’s coming by intensified prayer and giving to others. The secular world proclaims, “Shop till you drop.”  No wonder our hearts can become troubled during this season of peace and good will.

Fortunately, there is a way of setting aside the commercial Christmas and not letting it take over this holy time. The best way to save Christmas from secularism is by concentrating on basic stewardship principles: gratitude, responsibility, generosity and a willingness to return God’s gifts with increase.

Gratitude is the soul of stewardship. It is impossible to be overcome with anxiety (or greed) when we are truly thankful. Gratitude focuses our attention on the gifts we already have, not on the things we desire. Saying “thank you” draws us outside ourselves and helps to deepen our appreciation for the good things that we have been given by a good and gracious God. Saying thank you helps us overcome self-centeredness. It reminds us that we are not self-sufficient. As we say “thank you” during this holy season, we can properly prepare ourselves for the truly perfect Christmas gift, the baby in the manger.

Responsibility is fundamental to the practice of stewardship. Remember the scene in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol where the miserly Scrooge refuses to take responsibility for the poor? He didn’t feel responsible for the needy, for his employee and his family, or even for the only family Scrooge had – a nephew and his young wife. Until his conversion, which led to his willingness to take responsibility for others, Scrooge was unable to enjoy his wealth, status or success. The money he accumulated over many years only made him miserable. Taking responsibility for all the gifts God has given us and accepting our role as stewards of all God’s creation allows us to celebrate Christmas with an open heart.

Generosity is a value that even the secular Christmas recognizes through the value it places on gift giving. But what do we give? Is generosity primarily about buying and giving away material things? Or does it mean something more? Stewardship teaches the primacy of self-giving. Jesus Christ is the supreme example of someone who gave himself. Christmas invites us to follow his example. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says, “Whether a gift is expensive or cheap matters little; if we have not given a bit of ourselves along with it, any gift we give is too small.” 

This Christmas season let’s give “a bit of ourselves” (time, presence, prayer, kindness, laughter, encouragement, etc.) as well as the gifts that are placed under the Christmas tree.

The final stewardship principle is “giving back to the Lord with increase.” As we prepare for Christ’s birth, we can ask ourselves what we have accomplished during the past year. Have we grown personally? Have we made a positive contribution to the world we live in? Have we helped others? Have we taken God’s many gifts (material and spiritual) and “buried them,” or have we nurtured, cultivated and grown our gifts, skills, talents and relationships? Can we honestly say we are ready to return all these gifts to the Lord with increase?

A stewardship Christmas trumps a commercial Christmas. Instead of anxiety, hassles, overspending and tension among family members, a stewardship Christmas allows us to experience joy through giving thanks, taking responsibility for others, sharing ourselves with others and giving back God’s gifts with increase, which is a better way to spend Christmas.