My gift to Jesus

Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. These were the gifts which the earthly kings offered to the Divine King as they prostrated them-selves to give Him homage. Homage for having been given and guided by the Star to the Epiphany, the manifestation of God’s gift to the world – no less than Himself. The revelation of God to you and me. Love personified in Jesus Christ.

And what do we give in return? If the Magi offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh, can we not give something MORE? What is my gift to Jesus? What is yours? He gives us love personified. Shall we give less? "Amor con amor se paga," as the saying goes. Return love for love.

We are then to continue the Epiphany, the Revelation of God to others. This is the one and only meaning of our lives. Every one of us. Whoever we are. According to each one’s unique gifts and talents. My epiphany as LOVER. This is my gift to Jesus, to my neighbor, to the world.

The gift of family. Like Jesus, Mary and Joseph, every child, mother, and father knows what this means. Life, love, growth, and Godliness all start with family. From an infant’s innocent smile, to his sudden cry in the middle of the night. From the parents’ joys and pains in raising the child as well as in earning a living, in loving one another unconditionally – in sickness and in health, in poverty and in plenty – until death. All this and more is what a devoted husband-and-father calls the Sacred in the Ordinary, the Sacrament of the Routine, the Liturgy of Daily Life. He expressed this in the form of a prayer:

"Dear God, it is in the small acts that I show you who I am. The grand gestures I do for others. I offer the small ones for you since you alone will notice. I give them to you, each act another word in the most complete prayer I can offer you, the prayer that is my life." (From Ernest Boyer, Jr., Finding God At Home).

The gift of creativity. One way to love the Creator in return is to be His co-creator. The possibilities of this are endless. From the most talented to the least talented. From the most able to the most disabled. Let me just single out one dramatic example.

I recently received an Art Calendar 2006 – reproduced from original pictures painted by disabled artists without hands, from the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, Inc., a self-supporting group who earn their living by painting pictures for cards and calendars with either mouth or foot! Tears simply welled in my eyes as I contemplated those beautiful paintings one after another. God’s law of compensation is just amazing. And the gifts of these disabled artists to God and to the rest of us are equally amazing.

The gift of heroic leadership. This serves as a personal appeal to our current and former Presidents, in the name of God, to make the supreme effort of coming together to discern what is for the good of our country. This will entail no less than heroic efforts of leadership from each one of them.

This will involve four unique values:

1) Self-awareness. To understand my strengths, weaknesses, values, and worldview.

2) Ingenuity. To confidently innovate and adapt to embrace a changing world.

3) Love. To engage others with a positive, loving attitude.

4) Heroism. To energize myself and others through heroic ambitions

(From Chris Lowney, Heroic Leadership).

The above – mentioned pillars of success would apply, not only to national leaders, but to each one of us as well. Each one of us is a leader. As Lowney explains, our leadership springs from within. It’s about who I am and what I do. Leadership is my way of living. It is a lifelong task.

May we all respond to God’s epiphany with the gift of heroic leadership.