Guest Post for Epiphany from MSI Press Author, Dr. Dennis Ortman: Gift Exchange

(illustration by Zhenya Yanovich)
 

GIFT EXCHANGE

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

--Isaiah 9: 1

 

“I’m so exhausted! I can’t wait until the holidays are over,” adults complain. The Christmas season is filled with toil and trouble. Adults are fatigued with the endless round of decorating, cooking, baking, partying, gift buying and wrapping, and fighting crowds at the mall. 

“I’m so excited! I can’t wait until Christmas comes,” exclaim children. They are excited to be on vacation, escaping the toil and trouble of school. Play time begins, and they look forward to Santa coming. They enjoy the rounds of parties, time with friends, caroling, meeting Santa, and getting gifts. 

Both the giving and receiving, the toil and excitement, capture the true spirit of Christmas--and make the world go around. God gives the gift of Himself in His Son. We open-heartedly receive that great gift and respond by sharing ourselves with God and one another. The freely-given gift exchange creates a bond of love.

 

COMING OF THE MAGI

The Christmas season ends with the Feast of Epiphany. The word “epiphany” means manifestation, disclosure, showing. God shows himself to the whole world in the birth of His Son, Jesus, the Light of the world. The magi, wise men from the east, follow a star to Jesus’ crib. Matthew wrote: “They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2: 10-11) These enlightened wise men followed the light of a star. They trusted it would lead them to the Source of all light. They were not disappointed. 

How did the magi respond to their discovery? First, they were overjoyed at the privilege of being led to Jesus, the newborn King of the Jews--and of the universe. Their hearts were filled with gratitude. They were the few chosen to witness this epiphany. They realized they were receiving a great gift. These were wise men who dedicated their lives to the search for wisdom, for light in the midst of darkness. Now, their deepest longings were being realized. 

Next, they bowed down and paid Jesus homage. They initially came to honor a newborn king. However, they came to believe that they were in the presence of the Divine. They sensed the sacred in this ordinary place. The humble stable became for them a magnificent temple. The manger on which Jesus lay was transformed into an altar. It was an altar of worship destined to be one of sacrifice. 

Finally, their gratitude and faith inspired generosity. They opened their treasure chests and offered carefully selected gifts. They presented gold fit for a king, frankincense to honor a God, and myrrh to prepare Jesus for his burial. As any loving gift-giver, they wanted to please the recipient. In their wisdom, they were attuned to who this newborn child truly was. Their gifts recognized his true nature and destiny.

Our Christmas practice of gift-giving originated with the magi. St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) walked in their footsteps centuries later. The wise men knew, as we learned from them, that the heart-felt exchange of gifts is a powerful expression of love. It creates and nourishes the bond of love. It establishes community, fulfilling Jesus’ prayer, “that all may be one as you, Father, are one in me, and I in you: I pray that they may be one in us.” (John 17:21)

 

FOLLOWING THE STAR

The magi are also called astrologers. They watched the stars and their changing patterns. By observing nature closely they hoped to uncover the eternal wisdom hidden beneath the changing appearances. One night they observed a bright star arising and saw a glimpse of something extraordinary. They perceived a glimmer of divine light and undertook a journey to find its Source. For them, nature was the first epiphany of God’s presence. 

The ancient wise elders observed, and science today has confirmed, that our immense universe is relational. Everything is interdependent, from the atom to human beings. Objects are not as solid and separate as they appear. Everything is a composition of parts. Our vast universe gives and receives from far and wide a diversity of parts to make a whole. It is one gigantic gift-exchange. For example, the atom mirrors outer space. It is a nucleus with whirling electrons and subatomic particles in open space, which unite with other atoms. Matter is energy crystallized in ever- changing patterns. That energy is also ordered to create forms, suggesting the presence of intelligence. 

Driven by that intelligent energy, our earth has evolved over millions of years. Over time, the parts making the whole have become more complex and unified. Atoms and molecules accumulate to form living cells. These cells further congregate to form the nearly countless living creatures that inhabit our planet—plants, bacteria, insects, fish, birds, animals, and so forth. The final living form is us human beings. Evolution took a major leap with the birth of reflective thought. And our consciousness is still evolving. Its peak is the recognition of the Divine always and everywhere. The magi showed that higher consciousness in seeing the Light of the World in Jesus. 

Other sages, like the magi, perceived God’s presence throughout the process of evolution. Some perceived nature as cyclical, like the seasons. Others saw it as progressing in a straight line to a final end. On the one hand, Hindu sages view nature as an eternal cycle of constant repetition until a final liberation and union with the Supreme Reality. The Gods are always within and beyond unfolding nature. Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer operate through all the cycles of change as the underlying Source and Power. 

On the other hand, the Jewish-Christian tradition views nature from a historical perspective. History moves in a straight line according to God’s plan to its final fulfillment. Perhaps, it is more accurate to say we move in a slow upward spiral, with some side trips. We believe Christ is the Center of history, the Beginning and End. He is like the nucleus of the atom of life. St. Paul wrote: “He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creatures. In him everything in heaven and earth was created….He is before all else that is. In him everything continues in being.” (Colossians 1: 15-17) His presence energizes our move forward. 

In God’s plan, the evolution of the planet continues through those chosen ones who believe in Him. St. Paul wrote: “God chose us in him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love….God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery, the plan he was pleased to decree in Christ, to be carried out in the fullness of time: namely, to bring all things in the heavens and on earth into one under Christ’s headship.” (Ephesians 1: 4, 9-10) We have been chosen as the growing edge of evolution through our expanding consciousness and love for one another. We are co-creators with God of a better world. 

The final goal of history and nature, however, is the same for Hindus and Christians: a perfect communion of life and love with God, one another, and all creation.

 

BEING THE LIGHT

His disciples proclaimed Jesus the Light of the World. In turn, Jesus taught that we too are bearers of that light. He said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Men do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket. They set it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house.” (Matthew 5: 14-15) We are called to be the final epiphany for a world shrouded in darkness. That is really what the Church is meant to be: the sacrament of His presence in the world today. How are we to accomplish such a noble and daunting task? The magi suggest a way: 

Be Seekers:

The magi were stargazers, alert for signs of the sacred. They courageously undertook a journey into the unknown by following the star. They had no idea where it would take them, or what dangers and challenges would await them. Their yearning for the light of truth inspired their search. Their belief in the Light carried them along. In the same way, we must have the same passion for wisdom and alertness for what is true. The search will inevitably lead us into unknown regions. It will be necessary to face with courage our fear of the dark. Joseph Campbell, the American expert on myth, said, “The cave you fear most to enter holds your greatest treasure.” 

Be Grateful:

Open to the unexpected, the magi received everything they experienced as a wondrous gift. Their hearts were filled with gratitude. In contrast, many of us entertain many high expectations about our lives and are easily disappointed. We feel entitled. Or we imagine that we earn everything we have. However, only a moment’s reflection will reveal how much we stand on the shoulders of others, and how much others depend on us. What do we have that has not been given to us—our life, health, relationships, abilities, and so forth? Everything is grace. Gratitude opens our hearts to generosity, to seeking a way to pay back. 

Be Reverent:

The magi’s first instinct in meeting the newborn Jesus was to prostrate themselves and do him homage. Pride did not blind them to the mystery of the moment. They immediately perceived they were in the presence of the Divine. In the same way, a fully conscious love recognizes the divine dignity of the recipients of our gifts. 

Mother Teresa, the saint of Calcutta, was often asked what motivated her care for the poorest of the poor. She said, “I am not a social worker. Everything I do is for the love of God.” Then, she held up her hand and repeated the words of Jesus at the last judgment in Matthew’s Gospel. With each word she raised a finger, saying, “You do this for me.” She explained that she sees Christ in everyone she serves. We are all “another Christ.” 

The Hindus have a greeting that expresses this same sacred awareness. When they greet one another, they bow their heads with folded hands and say, “Namaste.” The gesture and expression mean, “The Divine in me honors the Divine in you.” 

Be Generous:

Gratitude and faith in the divine presence motivated the magi’s giving gifts. Generosity naturally overflows from gratitude. Love is further deepened by the recognition of the sacredness of the other. In a similar way, we give to others out of an awareness of our own abundance, of how much we have already received. We do not begrudgingly give out of our poverty. Love abounds and has a multiplier effect for both the giver and receiver. It is never lost or diminished. Love grows in the sharing of ourselves. It creates new life and unbreakable bonds. 

The Feast of Epiphany celebrates the showing of God’s presence in creation, in the birth of Jesus, and in all humanity. The divine Light has shined in the darkness of our world. The magi followed the star to the crib of Jesus, the newborn King. They are the star that lights our way to the joyful finding of God’s wondrous love. They invite us to a gift exchange which will result in a life-giving communion with God, one another, and all creation.

For more posts about Epiphany, click HERE.

Note: The cat in the drawing is MSI Press "author" Sula. For posts by and about Sula, click HERE.

For more posts by and about Dr. Ortman and his award-winning works, click HERE.

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