Thought of the Day December 27, 2019 Gift to be given
A charming legend relates that at the birth of Jesus the
shepherds hurried to the stable with different gifts. Each brought what he had;
some brought the fruits of their labor, others some precious item.
But as they were all presenting their gifts, there was one
shepherd who had nothing to give. He was extremely poor; he had no gift to
present. As the others were competing to offer their gifts, he stood apart,
embarrassed.
At a certain point, Saint Joseph and Our Lady found it hard to
receive all those gifts, especially Mary, who had to hold the baby. Seeing that
shepherd with empty hands, she asked him to draw near. And she put the baby
Jesus in his arms. That shepherd, in accepting him, became aware of having
received what he did not deserve, of holding in his arms the greatest gift of
all time.
He looked at his hands, those hands that seemed to him always
empty; they had become the cradle of God. He felt himself loved and, overcoming
his embarrassment, began to show Jesus to the others, for he could not keep for
himself the gift of gifts.
We receive Jesus as a gift in order to give him to others. That is the extended meaning of his coming into the world. We can't keep Jesus for ourselves. For him to stay with us, we must give him to others. A paradox and a mystery.
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