Tom Ewell Connections
  • Saturday Evening Post
  • Prior Postings
  • Subscribe
Picture

Tom Ewell Connections

This blog features reflections on current affairs through the lens of my Quaker faith and practice and offers not only analysis but a perspective on hope, renewal, and reconciliation - a “lift”, as I call it - during these stressful, chaotic times.
Subscribe

Gifts of Honor

12/24/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Friends,

In a thoughtful response to the retelling of the Christmas story, and especially the reference to the wise men bringing gifts, a friend noted that the gifts the wise men offered, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, were essentially symbolic gifts of honor, not practical ones, written into the Jesus narrative to represent what the biblical writers believed were the essence of the meaning of the birth of the Messiah. The gold honored their expectation of Jesus’ as leader/king; the frankincense represented his divinity; and the myrrh honored his mortality, or the humanness, of the baby Jesus. This ancient story of the wise men’s gifts established the tradition of Christmas gift giving, and I want to acknowledge and celebrate that tradition this evening.

On this Christmas Eve/Day it is good to be reminded that the heart of our gift giving is intended to be an honoring of the one to whom we offer a gift, just as the wise men offered gifts to the baby Jesus. The most special Christmas gifts given and received are always those carefully selected to match the gift itself with our recognition and honoring of the special quality or interests of the person to whom we give our gifts, or in recognition of some special relationship between us. And the most precious gifts we receive are those that affirm the giver's relationship to us. For example, when our twelve year old grandson visited us for a week last summer he became deeply interested in birding. He learned to use a telescopic lens to capture the beauty and grace of the birds, and he had an app that helped him identify any bird he saw. And I enjoyed a special morning accompanying him to sites on Whidbey to see the variety of shore and forest birds, and the morning that also included an hour long visit with friend well established in Audubon who hosted us in her backyard bird sanctuary while chickadees pecked seeds from our hands. Birding became a strong bond between us, so bird-related Christmas gifts to him this year honored his interest in birding and the bond birding created between us - and to the delight of us all!

Ideally, then, each gift we give and receive this Christmas could symbolically also represent the honoring of the special quality of the life and relationship we share. That hand-knitted sweater or jar of special jam; or those photographs, paintings, or poems; or that special toy or addition to one’s hobby or interest; or maybe a commitment to spend regular time together for a meal or a walk: these are all gifts honoring the love and bond between us. May our gift giving this season remind us again of the intention of the gifts of the magi as the origin of the tradition of Christmas gift giving and the personal honoring that our gifts are intended to express.

The holiday spirit of Jesus’ birth at best commemorates rebirth and renewal of hopeful beginnings. And just as the Jesus’ narrative also includes reference to the context of poverty, political oppression, and travail that also surrounded the time of Jesus’ birth, our hopes are tempered by the hardships of many across the planet. But this day, at this time, let us celebrate the message of hope the story of Jesus offers, and let us sing our hymn of joy to the world and the wonder and mystery it offers to us all.

Peace and blessings to you, my friends,
Tom
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    View Complete List

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020

    RSS Feed

Contact Tom directly via email
Website by Jimhydeshelp
  • Saturday Evening Post
  • Prior Postings
  • Subscribe