Christmas Day 2013

A woman bought a parrot to keep her company. She returned to the pet store the next day with a complaint: "This bird you sold me won't talk."  The pet store manager said, "Does he have a mirror in his cage? Parrots love mirrors. They see their reflection and they start up a conversation." So she bought a mirror and went home. A couple of days later she was back. The bird still wasn't talking. "How about a ladder?" the manager asked. "A ladder will make your parrot happy, and a happy parrot is more likely to talk." She bought the ladder and left. Two days later she returned. The bird still hadn't said anything. The store manager thought for a minute and said, "How about a swing? All parrots need a swing. A swing will loosen him up, and he'll be talking in no time." The woman reluctantly bought the swing and left. She was back the next day, looking forlorn. "My parrot died," she said. "That's terrible," the manager said. "Did he ever say a word?" "Yes," the woman said, "Right before he died he said, 'Don't they sell any parrot food at that pet store?'" My dear friends, today is Christmas day. On this day we celebrate as we remember the birth of JesusChrist. Jesus the Christ was born (Luke 1:1-14) as a gift of God for all His creation. Jesus the Christ is the best gift of God for us in order that we might have eternal life. God knows what to give us to celebrate life. Today, people give gifts or even have an exchange of gifts. But do they give gifts in order to make the recipients celebrate life? Or do they give gifts because they are expected to give? Does the giver think of what gift he is to give or does he ask the recipient what gift he needs? Well, Christmas day is not just about giving of gifts but letting the gifts remind both the giver and the receiver that everything they do should be life-giving and life-promoting. Amen.