Generosity and Christ

This past Sunday I was really touched by a simple and yet beautiful act of generosity. A woman at church whom I admire for acting on her faith instead of just talking about it shared with me how she had a friend whose boy was struggling with some health issues and wished for a tablet. As a family, they are going through a hard time, so this woman went on the web, set up an account people could donate to and asked all her Face book friends to think about helping out. Within hours the donations poured in from across the country and more than enough money came in to buy one of the best tablets available.
There is something about this time of year that brings out both the best and the worst in us. We've made Christmas out to be this orgy of shopping with Black Friday and Boxing Day on either side of Christmas encouraging all this, and yet this is also the time of year that stories of generosity and compassion always  come out about people who are struggling and receive these acts of hope and grace from people who slow down to see and hear their stories. These moments bring tears, though I always try to hide them.
These are sacred moments, moments where we reconnect with the Spirit of God and our hearts get softened. Christmas, the time in the year we remember the gift of God, Jesus, "God with us," and it stirs something in us that needs to reach out and connect with someone else just as God reached out by becoming human and connected with us. Why else are there all these cheesy sentimental movies that only come out at this time of the year, movies that we never admit to watching, but secretly enjoy because they touch something deep inside us, a need to care and show it.
I encourage you this Christmas season to act on these feelings of wanting to connect with someone else in a spirit of generosity, whether it's being a secret Santa and quietly helping out someone who has a need, or openly reaching out to give to a charity that helps make our community a better place to live, or even better, by offering an afternoon or couple of hours to help someone out. May the love of Jesus soften your heart and bless you this Christmas season