What will you give the Christ Child on his birthday? What do you give Someone when you know that the entire universe was created through him and for him? What could he possibly desire from you? It's simple, really. For love of us the Father sent His Son Jesus to us, to become human in addition to being divine. For love of us, the Son came to us of his own free will. What does love always desire from us? Love. Christina Rossetti's poem, "In The Bleak Mid-Winter," describes so beautifully the gift that the Christ Child desires from us:
1. In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
2. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.
3. Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
4. Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother1
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
5. What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
Your heart - that's what the Christ Child desires from you! Kneel before him in his stable, gaze down into his wonderful eyes, and give him your entire being, all that you are, all that you possess. Unlock and open wide the gates that protect your heart and protect all your selfish, vested self-interest, open the gates wide so that the Christ Child can enter your heart and receive it from you. In return, he offers you the priceless Gift of himself, come to live with you, to guide you, protect you, fill you to overflowing with life and love - with faith, hope, love, wisdom, self-control, courage, justice, peace.
Unlock and open wide the gates that protect your heart, that conceal all your sins that you hug to yourself and don't want to reveal or acknowledge. Let the Christ Child enter, the One Who forgives your sins and cleanses you, makes you new, ready to try again.
What can you give him, you who are so poor and bereft because you are only human, and he is both human and divine? On the priceless dark night of Christmas, the Christ Child gave himself as a Gift to all human beings, the Morning Star who never sets. He entered our darkness and filled it with his holy light. He continues to come and come again, over and over, by the day, by the moment, asking us if he can enter our hearts and receive them from us. In his light, we see light, the light of his holy face, filled with overwhelming love for each one of us. Don't run away from his love! Allow him to love you. Give him what he so deeply desires - all of yourself, as he has given all of himself to this earth and to every one of us - personally. What can you give him? Give your heart.