1^stSunday Advent

These four weeks before Christmas are called Advent and mark the beginning of a new Church Year. The word Advent means “the coming”. We are encouraged to meditate on (1) the second coming of Christ, (2) his first coming to Bethlehem and (3) his present coming into our lives. It is a holy time of waiting and expectation.

Although Advent is traditionally a time for doing penance as we liturgically await the coming of Christ (note the purple vestments at Mass), few people advert to its penitential nature today. While not insisting on that tradition, it should be a time of reflection on who and what we are awaiting, the coming of Christ. As we witness the lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath Sunday by Sunday, could we not at least turn our thoughts to what we will soon celebrate? And if we are in fact awaiting Christ’s rebirth in our individual lives, would it not be wise for each of us to examine the true meaning of Christmas, which seems to have been lost for many, wrapped as it is in the values of modern materialism?

For weeks already ,Jingle Bells and Here Comes Santa Claus have been regaling us in the stores and shopping malls, directing our thoughts to all the wonderful things our money can buy. Is it really true that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend ”? God help the girl for whom it is. For the thoroughly materialistic person nothing will ever ultimately satisfy, not even the Hope diamond. She will always be looking for a best friend and want more! She may think that she will be supremely happy if only……But once she has what she wants, she will soon be looking for something else. It was St. Augustine whosaid, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless untilthey rest in you.” Do you know of any really wealthy person who is satisfiedthat he has enough and has no interest in increasing his wealth? It’s a funnything about material things. The more we possess, the more we become possessedby them.

AtChristmas we remember in a special way that ‘God so loved the world that hegave his only Son, and the Son so loved us that he gave himself for oursalvation.’ Jesus is the Father’s gift to us as our Saviour. He offered himselffor us on the cross. “Greater love than this no one has than that he lay down hislife for his friends.” (Jn 15:13) Once anyone has given her life, there isnothing more she can give. Less than her life, there is always more she cangive. So in Jesus we remember and celebrate the gift of his Father to all of usat Bethlehem, and his own gift of self totally on Calvary.

Christians,reflecting on this twofold gift down through the ages, have been inspired togive of themselves for others. We have many examples of men and women wholiterally laid down their lives for other people. Most recently we know of themore than three hundred heroic police and fire-fighters in New York City whosacrificed their own lives while doing their best to save strangers. There havealso been examples right here in Hong Kong in the past year. One that comes tomind is the off-duty police officer who died trying to save a young man fromdrowning.

We speak of them as making the ultimatesacrifice and so they did. Once their act of benevolence was complete they hadnothing further to give.

Whathas this to do with Advent and Christmas? Gift-giving is a praiseworthyChristian act, provided we see it as a symbol of the personal offering of selffor the good of others. A gift that comes from some other motive than that maybe likened to any of several things. It may be a bribe offered to curry favourwith the boss or someone from whom I hope to gain something in return. It maybe like paying a debt: “She gave me last year so maybe I should give hersomething now.” Perhaps it is the equivalent of vote-buying by politicians: “IfI give now, I can most probably count on his vote in the comingelection.” Or she may say, “I givebecause I want him to notice me.” In each of these examples there is an elementof self-seeking. In giving one’s life, however, one keeps nothing for oneself..

Christmascards are also a way to reach out to others. Much the same can be said of themas is said of material gifts. Why do we send them? What is our motive? Perhapsfor many it is a chance to get in touch with friends after a long time, and notas an obligation but as a sincere desire to greet them and wish them well.Surely that is a Christian act in which one gives something of himself in love.But any other reason based on selfish self-love is unworthy of us.

On the otherhand, much gift-giving is quite selfless, when it becomes a symbol of thedesire to say to another person, “I really care for you.” This is often true ofa gift of a diamond, for example. It may say, “This is very beautiful and themost precious gift I could find for you. I wish it could be even more preciousbecause my love is so great that even this beautiful diamond poorly representshow much I love you.” Or it might not. Ostentatious gifts are sometimes givenin pride and might say, “See how rich I am. I’m really somebody. With this giftI expect you to worship at my throne.” The inexpensive gift of a poor persongiven out of selfless love is far more precious than the most expensive onegiven for any other reason.

Thoseof us both giving and receiving, therefore, need not be caught up in themadness of a commercial Christmas. The thought behind the gift is far moreimportant than the gift itself. Let us remember that we are celebrating thefact that God loved us first and in his love gave his only begotten Son, who inturn gave his very life for us. Caught up in that remembrance and desiring toemulate the great love that he has for us, we can and do follow our bestinstincts when we give gifts at Christmas. For a Catholic, it is being true toself when we do not think how much a gift costs but how much love isrepresented by it. The true value of any gift is to be found there: “How muchlove does it represent?”

SoAdvent is upon us. That’s good if it is a time of reflection on the meaning ofwhat we will celebrate at Christmas. Good too if we examine our attitudetowards material things in relation to gift-giving. We have four weeks toprepare. When the music and propaganda pressure us to do our shopping early,let us remember the reason for the season, that God gave his Son to us, and theSon gave his life. What he has done for us we should do for others; we shouldgive ourselves in our gifts. Amen.