On the 5th Day of Christmas
In the temple, Mary and Joseph presented Jesus along with an offering of turtle doves. This meager worldly offering came from heir poverty. Yet, in actuality, they came to present the purest of lambs. A lamb offered with unprecedented value and brought forth from their wellspring of faith.
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What Do I Have to Offer God
If I were to present a child in the temple, I too would have only turtle doves to offer, especially if they could be bought on credit or came with a promo code. This raises the question of the value of my treasure. Do I spend my time trying to build material wealth or do I put my energy into activities that reap a spiritual reward? Am I building a wellspring of faith that provides a wealth beyond measure?
The Balance of Wealth at Christmas
No season challenges this balance in my life quite like Christmas. While I desire to focus my efforts on the aspects of Christmas which leads to my best offering to God; I usually end up overwhelmed by the secularism of the holiday.
I tried once to postpone Christmas activities until December 24th; longing to bask in the waiting of Advent and the joy of the true Christmas season. The clash of this desire against the cultural Christmas season was most evident by the response to my sending Christmas cards during the Octave of Christmas.
Many people commented on the tardiness of my card. One person declared it went directly into her trash upon opening because she’d already undecorated her home.
Preparing Our Hearts for The Coming of Christ. Let Advent be Advent, and Christmas be Christmas.
When did Advent cease to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and Christmas not extend until the Baptism of the Lord? Why would we not want to extend this joyous time for as long as we could? When did the world shift their hearts from preparation for eight glorious days of Christmas to only one day? A day sadly, many people fatigued by shopping and their to-do lists, barely actually enjoy.
In the hopes of building a storehouse of heavenly treasure, I will keep my decoration up until the Epiphany and truly celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior.
Original Post part of the uCatholic.com 2018 Christmas Octave Reflection Series.
