The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Our Christmas Homily, 25 December 2024
Isaiah 52:7-10 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 1:1-6 ><}}}}*> John 1:1-18

A blessed merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! On this most joyous season of the year that is also the most commercialized, let us reflect about gift-giving.

During Christmas, I hear a lot of people complaining of finding it difficult in giving gifts, in finding the most suitable gift to give to their family and friends. It is the other way around for me as I find it more difficult in receiving gifts than giving.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no claims to whatsoever except that I have always preferred to be a giver than a receiver. In fact, it is my favorite “love language”. Maybe it is part of my upbringing being the eldest in the family. My father taught me the value of hard work to be independent, never to rely on others unless necessary while my mother instilled in me the importance of sacrifice and contentment as she would say, “magtiis kung ano lang mayroon at hindi lahat ng kaya ay bibilhin.”

Friends know me so well of not opening gifts immediately that so often, food given to me end up expired. That is why I always ask people if their gift is food that needs to be consumed immediately like cakes, chocolates and ice cream!

Recently I gifted a religious priest with vestments for his silver anniversary of ordination three weeks ago. Just before the Simbang Gabi started as I shopped for my Christmas vestment, I messaged him for his chasuble size (the vestment we put on top of our alb). It turned out he goes too to the same shop and told me how he had always loved one of those Roman albs made there, a surplice alb with black lining. Since he had celebrated his silver anniversary as priest, I bought one of the alb too with the chasuble delivered to him via courier that day. That afternoon, Father almost shouted in joy in his messages, thanking me for the gifts of a chasuble and a Roman alb, asking, “akala ko yung alb lang bakit may chasuble pa, Father?” I simply told him “because you are a good priest; just pray for me and don’t mention it in your posts.”

During the Simbang Gabi last week while checking on my Facebook, I saw his posts wearing my gifts in his Misa de Gallo. It looked so good on him, the nice off-white chasuble with a V-shaped design on the chest with a classic cross underneath it the surplice alb with black lining he liked. He looked so holy. And I felt so good at myself having made a brother priest so happy.

At that moment, I felt the deep sense of joy of Christmas whatever it meant, as if Jesus were touching me, speaking to me in His most genteel voice an important lesson about gifts.

Through that priest, Jesus answered my prayer at the start of the Simbang Gabi, “how can I truly share you, Lord, this Christmas?”

Through that priest, I felt Jesus speaking into my heart that for me to be able to truly share Him this Christmas, I must first receive Him. We can only be a true giver when we are a sincere and humble receiver first.

I must confess that aside from my upbringing, it is largely pride that is the reason I prefer giving than receiving. As a giver, there is that sense of pride, of having the upper-hand with power and control especially when some gifts I have received are not of my size or I already have like books. It is easier to give especially when we have so much of things without really feeling deep inside the love and freedom why we give. Very often we give to show we don’t need others because we have.

Being a receiver requires humility in the first place, that we are incomplete and dependent on others. When we are able to receive, our giving becomes meaningful because when we receive gifts, we first receive the giver, the gift of every person we must always warmly receive with joy. As I relished my joy in seeing that priest appreciating my gifts – and me – I felt God patting my shoulder, as if telling me, that is how He feels when we receive and appreciate His Christmas gift, the child Jesus on the manger, asking us to receive Him, to love Him, to take care of Him.

He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him (John 1:11).

This Christmas, let us first realize that we are first of all receivers of God’s gift in Jesus Christ. Let us receive Him so we can share and give Him as we pray:

A most blessed happy birthday to You,
Lord Jesus Christ! 
You are our most precious, 
the most important gift
we have received from the Father.

Forgive me
when I refuse to receive and accept You
 among the people who love and care for me, 
for the people you send me to love and care too.

Forgive me
 when I refuse to receive and accept You 
among those who have hurt and offended me 
that until now I have not truly forgiven, 
having grudges against them.

Forgive me
 when I refuse to receive and accept You
 in my own giftedness, always doubting my goodness, 
my talents that I cannot be bold enough 
in sharing You because I might fail, 
I might err, I might not measure up to others' standards.

Grant me the grace this Christmas, 
Lord Jesus, to be small and fragile like You 
as an infant, so vulnerable, trustingly accepting 
even the unfavorable situations where I am 
so that I can share and give You truly 
to those who are willing to welcome You like me. 
Amen.