Parkwood Presbyterian Church: From the Pastor, December 2011

From the Pastor...
December 2011 - January 2012

No anonymous gift-recipients

As a child, one of the wonders of celebrating Christmas was the breath-taking beauty of beholding the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. No matter how beautiful it may have looked in advance, set up and decorated several days as it always was, it was a different sight to behold when we awoke on Christmas morning. Late into the evening, after we had gone to bed, my parents arranged for certain packages to be wrapped, delivered, or fetched from other hiding places, to appear under the tree in the morning. Others might arrive marked "from Santa", but there was always at least one parcel for each of us. If, on the rare occasion that we had one or more guests staying with us for Christmas, or due to visit over the Christmas holiday period, there would also be at least one parcel with a name tag for that individual "under the tree".

No one who was part of the gift-opening scene on Christmas morning could escape without having someone say, "Here's one for you!" In other words, there were no anonymous gift-recipients.

I thought about this when I read again the incident of Jesus and the woman who had been suffering with bleeding for twelve years.

Luke 8: 44-48 - She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you." But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me." Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

God allows no anonymous gift-recipients. Each one of us who receives the gift of God's saving grace is known to God. Even though the woman's name is not recorded (and therefore she is "anonymous" in the eyes of the world), Jesus speaks to her personally: "Daughter, your faith has healed you." She may have "taken" the gift of healing, but Jesus "gives" her the gift of peace.

Jesus may have been dispensing gifts "to the crowd", but he distributes the grace of God individually and personally to each one. In this season, many of us prepare to give gifts which are packages earmarked personally for individuals. Even when we contribute gift boxes or offer "white gifts" that are intended for those who are in need, whose names we may not know, we may be assured that when those gifts are finally delivered, they are addressed to an individual by name. There are no anonymous gift-recipients.

Let us rejoice in this season of giving and receiving. The packages which may or may not appear under our Christmas trees are secondary. The parcel of God's love who appeared in the person of Jesus whose birth we celebrate is the one which matters. If, by the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus appears in your heart and mine as the parcel of God's love to heal and transform us, then we are blessed indeed! Jesus is God's gift of peace to each one.

With prayers for a merry and peace-filled Christmas and new year,

James T. Hurd