Christmas – The Joy of Giving

One of the earliest memories of Christmas deeply etched in my memory is the Christmas celebration at my ancestral home. My grandfather would organize a big celebration on the Christmas day, starting off the day with an early church service followed by the festivities culminating in a big meal. Many of my relatives would be invited, the house would be filled with uncles, aunts and cousins running around. But the most memorable aspect of the day was that he would not forget to invite all the workers and helpers who had been involved with him in some way or the other over the years. Most of them were from the lower strata of the society, they would come as whole families, they were given gifts and new dress and were treated to a sumptuous meal. He would oversee all this with a large heart and at the end of the day he would slump into his reclining chair with a look of satisfaction and fulfillment written all over his face

Very early in my life this was ingrained in my psyche that Christmas is all about giving - God giving his only son Jesus as a gift to the whole world and the Son giving His life as a ransom for mankind’s sins. God is the greatest giver of all no one can beat that but this is the time of the year that we as mortal humans can emulate this to a certain extent and  give and be generous to people in need around us. In a world caught up in the throes of ‘getting’ and ‘receiving’, with the catch word being ‘give me more’ or ‘Yeh dil mange more’ (my heart needs more) it is difficult to be cheerful givers. Probably the first thought that comes to our mind will be, what about “my” Christmas celebration, what about my family, the new dress, the cakes and gifts for the kids etc that we are planning. No doubt, that is important and we need to enjoy the time with our families and dear ones but if the celebration is limited to only them that’s when Christmas loses its real meaning.

We are living in an “i” generation with everything coming out designed for the individual, be it iPad or iPhone or a i20 car. It is when we can elevate and liberate our thoughts from the self-centric individualistic level to being other-centric, to those who are suffering, downtrodden and underprivileged around us and be willing to reach out and meet their needs then the Joy of Christmas becomes real, it is a shared joy, the Joy of giving. Remember the good news of the birth of Jesus, the King of Kings was not first proclaimed to the rulers or in a palace to the rich but to the lowly downtrodden shepherds sleeping out in the field.  Jesus himself said in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free”.

What are your plans for this Christmas? Would you take a moment to think of someone who is in need or marginalized in the society around you?  Would you share this joy of Christmas with them? Try it out! There is no greater joy or fulfillment than the one found in generously giving and sharing what God has bountifully blessed us with, however little that might be.