"But grace was given to each one of us according
to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore it says, 'When he
ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to
men.'" Eph 4:7-8 ESV
We have all heard
the song "The Twelve days of Christmas," but most of us don't know
what they are. Christmas used to last
for twelve days, from December 25 till January 6. Before Christmas people
fasted and prayed. For the twelve days
of Christmas people feasted and celebrated. In parts of the American
South, slaves were freed from their work
during those day to celebrate. In ancient Rome, masters served their
servants. In ancient Rome, masters
served their servants. It was a time of
charity and joy.
In England today is
Boxing Day--a traditional day for presents. Christmas Day is reserved for
worshiping and feasting. Boxing day is a day for remembering the Lord's great
gift to us through giving to others.
Winter gift giving
has been around from pre-Christian times.
The Romans celebrated a December holiday called saturnalia which included the gift exchanges. Early Christian
accounts of Christmas often included
gifts. St. Nicolas of Myra, whose story
provided the basis for Santa Claus, was remembered in a December feast day that
included giving of gifts to children. In
many countries, January 6, the Feast of the Magi, is when they give gifts.
Why should
Christians give gifts? There is no
Biblical mandate for it, of course, but neither is there any Biblical reason
not to. If gift-giving is in the Bible,
it isn't in the Christmas story. Maybe a better justification for gift-giving
is to be found in the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
The word
"grace" and the word "gift" are the from the same root word
in Greek. The grace of Jesus is also the gift of Jesus. His death on the cross was a free and willing
sacrifice on our behalf--a gift--which demanded nothing in return except
acceptance and faith.
Christ's
resurrection from the dead is His triumphant victory over death. Generals who won great victories were honored
in triumphant festivals which included the giving of gifts. Paul no doubt had
such parades in mind when he quoted Psalm 68:18
as a statement of Christ's victory over death. "When he
ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to
men." Paul describes
Christ's resurrection in the same terms as a Greco-Roman military triumph. When
a conquering general returned to Rome, he drove his military captives before
him. Often he would have them put to death before the cheers of the crowd. But
if a general wanted to display his grace and generosity, he would pardon them
publicly. Along with the prisoners came
the spoils of war, which the general would spread among the people as gifts.
Christ who took
death and hell itself captive through His resurrection. He pardoned those who
had once followed him, but now had sought forgiveness, publicly displaying them
as tokens of His grace. Then he
distributed the gifts of the Holy Spirit among His people as a symbol of His
blessing.
What better way may
we celebrate His generosity but by being generous with others? We give to
others--especially to the poor and the needy--because of the way in which we
received from Christ, who gave to us when we did not deserve it. The giving of gifts to the poor at this time of year are not just
for our own sake, but for Christ's sake.
Our giving is a reminder of His giving.
Every gift we give to another is made possible only because God has
given to us.
"Father, we have received freely from your
generosity. Help us to be as generous to others as you are to us, to help those
most in need, to give forgiveness to those who have wronged us, and to set free
those who are in bondage. Give u hearts, filled with courage and generosity, so
we can represent you by loving others they was we ourselves have been loved. In
Jesus' name, Amen."
