Giving

December 23, 2018

They were all so grateful. Last Wednesday the women and men of our Dunkirk Willow Mission spent the morning giving out Christmas gifts and the fixings for a Christmas dinner, including full shank hams. People down on their luck, some who have never known anything but poverty, they came, white, black, Hispanic. With my mediocre Spanish and Myrta, our good translator, we were able to bless our guests with words as well as food and gifts. 

Every single person offered their thanks, but it is we who should thank them. It isn’t easy receiving charity. Most of our Christmas giving is merely swapping. We give to people who give in return, trying to keep the equation. But the Bible tells us to give to those who cannot repay you, without thought of return. The problem with that is the imbalance of relationship that occurs, which is why the receiving of charity can be so difficult. Those receiving can feel indebted, and that isn’t a good feeling for anyone. Perhaps it’s why when we loan money to friends, they often start to drift away. It’s easier than facing the feeling of inferiority that imbalance produces.

The unfettered gratitude of those who filed through the church last Wednesday was humbling for me. It is, as Jesus said, better to give than receive. I’ve been on both ends of the exchange, and I much prefer the giving side. I am grateful tonight not only to be able to swap gifts with those I love and know, but to also be able to give to those with whom I only have a passing acquaintance. It is my hope and prayer that through giving, we’ll have the opportunity to share with people the greatest Gift of all—Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate with our giving.