Joy at Christmas

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Now we enter the season of Christmas, when we celebrate the coming of our Lord, who offers the peace the world does not give, who brings joy to our hearts and to our lives. Our Christmas hymns are filled with these words: We sing, “Peace on earth” and “Joy to the world!”

These words appear, too, in the Scripture readings for Christmas. The prophet Isaiah, whose message we hear at the first reading at every Mass for The Nativity of the Lord, speaks of abundant joy and great rejoicing for the child whose domain is vast and ever peaceful.

But when I look at my life and this world today, I don’t always see joy and peace. Too often I see pain and suffering, ill will, conflict and even bloodshed. This is because the message of the world tells us that we must buy more things, have more money, be more successful.

But all my possessions and my limited success don’t really bring happiness, while spending all my efforts trying to acquire more means I have no time to seek joy and peace.

The story is told that John D. Rockefeller, once the wealthiest man in the world, was asked how much money was enough. He replied, “Just a little bit more.”

I know people with that philosophy, and their decisions always are based on whether they will make money from what they do.

But Rockefeller was not only a businessman, he also was a generous philanthropist. He called the $80 million he donated to the University of Chicago the best investment he ever made. The man had his faults, but I think it speaks well of him that he thought his best investment was a donation from which he didn’t personally benefit.

I wish I could say the same about how I spend my own money. I can’t give a donation of millions of dollars, but I can strive to donate a meal to the hungry, a coat to someone shivering with cold, contribute to shelters that house those who are homeless, and offer a smile to someone who is forlorn. These are all excellent investments of the kind I as a Christian am called to make.

When I think I have nothing to give, I can reflect on the story Pope Francis told at Christmas two years ago, about the shepherds who brought gifts to the Christ child. Each shepherd brought something, except for one. Embarrassed and ashamed, he stood there awkwardly until Mary asked him to hold the baby Jesus so that she could accept all the gifts she was being given.

“He looked at his hands, those hands that seemed to him always empty; they had become the cradle of God. He felt himself loved and, overcoming his embarrassment, began to show Jesus to the others, for he could not keep for himself the gift of gifts,” the pope said.

This story has a wonderful Christmas message. It leads me to ask how I show Jesus to others. Do I look at my possessions and ask if I need “just a little bit more,” or do I have enough? If I’m honest, I admit that I have more than enough, so I need to find it in my heart to share what I have. This season I need to shift my gaze from getting to giving so that I can think about how I share Christ, my best investment, my path to peace and joy.

For Christians, the path to peace and joy is Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Let’s strive to share him with our families, our community, our nation and our world.

Merry Christmas!

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic. Reach her at marie@icatholic.org.