The following is a reflection I prepared for an Advent session…..<\/p>\n
Christmas is all about giving!!
\nThe lord loves a cheerful giver!!
\nGiving is better then receiving \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or so they say
\nBut what about being a good receiver\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6
\nIt seems to me that receiving is much harder
\nAnd when we think about it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t receiving what Christmas is actually all about
\nGiving is relatively easy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it may challenge our selfishness or priorities
\nBut giving doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expose our needs<\/p>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like surprises, why? Because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not in control..
\nWhat if I get something I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like or want \u00e2\u20ac\u201c what do I say?
\nDo I lie and say how much I like it, do I have to be grateful?
\nKnowing that I will either give it to someone else or give it to a charity shop.
\nHave you ever received a Christmas gift from someone you hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expected one from?
\nWhat do you do? Do you feel guilty and rush out and buy them a token gift?
\nWhat happens if that gift is perfect, something you really appreciate and yet you had no idea that you would like it.<\/p>\n
Mary was open to receiving an unexpected gift,
\nShe welcomed and wondered at the gift given and created space within her to receive it.
\nThis unexpected gift radically changed her life
\nShe ultimately gave over her whole world to this gift. <\/p>\n
Giving can make us feel powerful, competent, self-sufficient and capable sort of people, giving doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expose our needs.
\nLearning the art of receiving calls us to intimacy, honesty, openness and evaluation.
\nTo receive the love of another, calls me to intimacy, I have to expose something of my inner world, of who I am. To receive another\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s love I have to allow my innermost self to be touched.
\nTo receive I have to open my hands, ( I love the Eucharist in this sense, this childlike openness to receive the body and blood.
\nInner growth comes from opening ourselves up to receive from others
\nChristmas is about receiving the love that Jesus offers to us.
\nTo be loved means that I must bring myself with all my insecurities, pain and needs to be embraced by another.<\/p>\n
To be on the receiving end of love requires that we see our lives not as our possessions, but as gifts. Emptiness is a gift, to have enough room, to not be too full. To be needy, poor, weak, can be a gift.
\nUltimately the gospel is about receiving a precious unbelievable gift, the gift of God being born in us.
\nWhen Mary offered space, love and belief in her life, her life changed forever.
\nLearning the art of receiving is a powerful call to change.
\nIn receiving I need to welcome the other
\nIn receiving I need to make room and space to accept that which I frequently fail to realise I need.
\nIn receiving \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The following is a reflection I prepared for an Advent session….. Christmas is all about giving!! The lord loves a cheerful giver!! Giving is better then receiving \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or so they say But what about being a good receiver\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 It … Continue reading