My reflection today: Wrapping Gifts
Bright colored paper, ribbons and bows, tape and tags, a box to disguise a gift shape – gifts are wrapped with many questions in mind: ‘Will she like it?’ ‘Does the wrapping give the secret away?’ ‘Isn’t it pretty?’ Some receivers are shakers and guessers, some rippers and tearers, some slow and careful openers. Yet all the gifts will be unwrapped. In a flash there will be mounds of torn paper everywhere. Why the effort?
Gifts are not wrapped to remain hidden, but to be revealed. The joy of discovery delights the giver as well as the gifted. God wrapped himself in human flesh that first Christmas, the hidden mystery of his being revealed in Jesus. A baby (‘So pretty!’), an ugly cross (‘Will they like it?’), a sacrament (‘Can anyone guess what’s inside?’)-God makes a great effort for us. Why? Our daily effort to unwrap the heaven-sent gift of Jesus makes it all worthwhile, a delight for God as well as for us.
Are we making an effort to discover Jesus wrapped in our hearts, in our lives? How has God tried to reveal himself today? How do we expect Jesus to be wrapped?” – Terrance Schneider
Dear God, do not allow who you are to go unnoticed in our lives.
Help us to discover you in our joys, in our trials, and in every Calvary we face.
Lord, teach us to praise you in all we do and say, that our lives may reveal your love to others. Amen.