They are your gift to me.

They are your gift to me.

Even though it’s May, try to imagine it’s Christmas Eve.   A father sits by the Christmas tree, struggling to assemble a bicycle for his son.   No parts are missing, but it takes work to fit them together.   The tires need air.   The frame of the bike needs polishing, and the chain needs lubrication.   But the father is happy to spend all that effort.   He knows it will be worth it when he sees the look of delight on his boy’s face on Christmas morning!

John’s Gospel tells you today that you are a gift from the Father to Jesus.   What does this mean?   Most obviously, it means that you are precious and valuable to him.   That in itself would be enough to ponder for quite some time.   But let’s not stop there.

It also means that just as you are a gift to Jesus, so is every other person.   We are all gifts individually, and we are also—and no less importantly—a gift as a group.   It may not be the most perfect analogy, but the body of Christ is like that bicycle the father is putting together.   There are many parts, but together they form a precious gift that God delights in giving to his Son, Jesus.

Sometimes when we look at our parish, all we see are unrelated parts spread out all over the place.   There’s the social justice ministry, the pro-life ministry, and the Rosary guild.   There’s also the church down the street and the Christians passing out pamphlets in the neighborhood.   How will we ever come together?   How will we ever become so united that we form one people singing to the glory of the Lord?   It may seem impossible to us, but not to God.   Like that father on Christmas Eve, he won’t stop working until all the pieces fit together perfectly.

God wants to bring Jesus joy by giving you to him as a gift of inestimable value.   But he also wants to bring Jesus joy by giving him the entire Church—indeed, all of humanity—united in love.   Let’s join in that mission by echoing Jesus’ own prayer that we “may be brought to perfection as one”.   Let’s find ways to work together so that we can bring a bright smile to Jesus’ face.

word among us