Share God’s delightful gifts

It was the Second Sunday of Advent; Christmas is on the way, with people in the mode of preparing for festivities. The weather is getting cold and colder, and darkness begins in the afternoon. I really want to have a good night’s sleep after a busy weekend of activities.
I felt so cold in the middle of the night. The coldness woke me up to make me put on more layers of clothing. But I still couldn’t sleep well because it was 30° without heat!
Monday morning on Dec. 8, the technician from the oil company came. He spent about eight hours to fix the water boiler and the oil burner to stop the water from leaking and provide heat to the entire building. I was amazed at how expert he was. I asked him, “Dave, are you the senior technician of your company? You so excellently fixed the problem!”
“No, I am not,” he replied. “I am just an ordinary technician. But I worked for our company for 30-some years!” “Wow, you’re unbelievably good,” I told him. “Thank you very much for letting us have heat again!” I got a big smile from this tall, skinny man with a gentle manner.
We are living in a reality with all kinds challenges for study, work, family and relationship-building. We are under such stress in our daily routines. How can we live with a cheerful heart, in faith, through our actions every day?

Where is Jesus Christ for you? On television programs? Searching for gifts to give others? Is Jesus Christ just a decoration for our busy schedule, like a seasoning for the season? Or are we meant to be the seasoning, the flavor to express the coming of Jesus Christ into the world?
We always can postpone sharing our time, talent and treasure with others. And saying we are too tired, we can even excuse ourselves from making the commitment to worship our Lord and Savior.
What do you think we can do better this Christmas to show our appreciation and gratitude to God? How can we be more faithful, as good servants should be, to delight our Lord this Christmas? Where and with whom can we show God’s peace and grace of mercy?
Let the Light of Christ shine from you to others in the world! Let us be faithful servants. Whatever you do, you can give to others the delightful gift of showing God’s peace to them, while also letting your prayers rise up like incense to the Lord. Let us pray as St. Francis did: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”