In U.S.American culture, once we make it to the other side of Thanksgiving, our brains almost automatically shift towards preparing for Christmas, don’t they? In the Church, of course, we focus on preparing our hearts and spirits: getting ourselves in the right mindset to welcome Jesus to the world. At home, your preparation might look like decorating or baking; at work, it may take the form of frantic efforts to get things wrapped up before you leave for vacation. But no matter where you are or what you’re doing, I’d be willing to bet that your Christmas preparation involves gifts in one way or another.
I’d guess that the vast majority of our gift-related preparation takes more or less the same form: going online or to the store, picking something out, and buying it to give. In fact, this whole weekend - Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday - is designed to encourage this sort of consumer-driven preparation. If shopping isn’t your thing, though, you still have plenty of options. You could choose to purchase a gift card, send a check, make a charitable donation in someone’s name, or write out an IOU, instead. Some especially industrious gifters even make things by hand to give to their loved ones. Regardless of what form your preparation takes, any of these thoughtful gestures would likely be appreciated on Christmas morning.
But there’s one method of gift-giving I didn’t mention, because it’s not generally seen as a respectable option this time of year. I’m talking, of course, about RE-gifting. There’s an underlying assumption that regifting is just a way to get rid of something that you don’t like or value, even though someone else took the time to pick it out especially for you. Worse still, it can give the impression that you aren’t willing to spend your own time and resources on another person. From this perspective, regifting comes across as ungrateful, selfish, disrespectful, and cheap.
But the truth is that laziness and thoughtlessness aren’t the only possible motives behind regifting. Sometimes, someone might choose to regift something for the exact opposite reason: they enjoy and appreciate it SO much that they want to make sure someone else gets to experience it, too. Think family heirlooms, hand-me-downs, beloved books - that sort of thing. No one would argue that THIS type of giving is disrespectful or selfish, so maybe regifting doesn’t always deserve the bad reputation it’s gotten over the years.
I think we can all agree that God has given some incredible gifts to us and to the world. There’s the four that are represented by the candles of the Advent wreath (Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love); there’s the gifts of community and family, the gifts of forgiveness and grace, the gifts of provision and resources - the list is truly endless. We’re here because these gifts have transformed our lives for the better. And since we’re all called to share the good news of the gospel, what could be a more compelling way to do it than by regifting these things to others?
However, there are steps we should follow to make sure that we’re regifting God’s gifts right and well. After all, we can’t just wrap them up in crumpled old newspaper, shove them at a neighbor, and say, “I hope you like it!” Gifts as special as the ones God gives require intentionality and preparation in order to make sure the next recipient can appreciate them the way that you do. So this Advent, we’ll be using the lens of the Christmas story to figure out what these steps could be. And what better place to start this exploration than with Mary, the one to whom knowledge of the Christ was first entrusted: the ultimate regifter of God’s gifts?
While we celebrate Christmas as the day that “the earth received her king”, Mary received this gift long before the rest of us. She spent nine months knowing the Messiah in a way that no one else would ever know him - feeling him move within her womb, nourishing his body as she nourished her own, taking part in an unfinished incarnation. She knew that this child was a gift that was eventually meant to be shared with the world - we’ll talk more about that next week - but for a brief time, he was a gift for her and her alone.
The story of the Annunciation - our Scripture reading for today - tells us what happens when Mary first learns about God’s gift to her. It’s the very first narrative step in the journey towards Christmas Day. But what we may not realize is that it also reveals to us the crucial first step in regifting - and surprisingly, it doesn’t involve the future recipient at all. Before we start thinking about *their* relationship with the gift that we plan to share, we first have to consider our own. If we want our regifting to have an impact, we have to make sure that we REALLY understand what it is that we’re passing along. Before anything else, we have to fully RECEIVE the gift - not just by accepting it, but by understanding and appreciating it completely.
When Gabriel first arrives bearing the news of God’s gift to her, Mary doesn’t immediately start imagining the impact it will have on the world or strategizing how to let people know about it. Instead, she takes the time to figure out exactly what it all means for HER. She acknowledges her confusion. She allows herself to wonder. She asks questions: “How can this be?” She seeks understanding before anything else, because it’s the only way for her to know the nature of the gift, its true significance, and whether or not she wants to embrace it.
And then, after the confusion and wondering and questions, after the pondering and understanding, she makes the deliberate choice to receive the gift into her life - fully, joyfully, and (most importantly) willingly. It isn’t something that’s forced on her, and it’s not something that she accepts without thought. By the end of this brief passage, she knows exactly what it is that God is giving to her - and asking of her - and, having done the work to understand and appreciate it all, she’s prepared for what comes next.
Friends, we cannot hope to spread God’s wonderful gifts throughout the whole world if we ourselves don’t recognize their value and significance in our own lives. We can’t evangelize if we don’t understand exactly what it is we’re trying to regift. This past Thursday, many of us sat around a table with family and friends, and we listed the things we’re thankful for. But why did we do this? What purpose did this exercise serve? Was it just a perfunctory tradition, a brief tally to show that we’re vaguely aware of our many blessings? Was it - heaven forbid - meant to help us feel superior to others who don’t have those same gifts? Or was it a true practice of gratitude, a real reflection on how your life has been changed for the better by the gifts that God has given you?
So as we enter this “season of giving”, don’t forget this first step. Don’t just give thoughtlessly, out of reflex or obligation. Take the time to first acknowledge what YOU have been given. Make sure you fully appreciate the ways you’ve been blessed and how it’s shaped your life. Give thanks for God’s gifts to you not just in your mind or with your words, but with your whole being. Then, when your heart is almost bursting with gratitude and wonder at God’s goodness, you’ll finally be able to understand exactly what these gifts mean. You’ll be ready to regift with intention and purpose. You, like Mary, will be prepared to share these gifts with the world - just as God has always intended. Amen.
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