Have you ever put a great deal of thought
into buying, or even making,
a gift for a friend
only to find that,
when you give it to them,
they don’t really seem to like it?
Sometimes
your friend doesn’t even say “Thanks!”
or sometimes they say “Thanks!”
with as much enthusiasm
as if you’d just presented your friend
with a box of Maltesers from a pound shop
(and in fact you’re left with a sneaking suspicion
that your friend would probably have preferred
that box of Maltesers!)
You’re left feeling really disappointed.

Do you reckon
that’s how God feels?

On that first Christmas
God gave to us
the precious gift of His only son.
And God gives us that gift again
in the Eucharist
every time that we celebrate Mass.
When the priest raises the Host at Mass
and proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God …”
do we truly appreciate
the precious gift
of the Body of Christ?
Or are we distracted instead
by the cares and worries
of home and work?

In this hectic world
do we take time to appreciate
the gift of Jesus to each one of us
or is Jesus for us
simply yet another unwanted gift?
Given the choice,
which would we rather have –
Jesus or that box of Maltesers?

©  Claire Murray, 28th December 2016