The Gift of Christ ~ Deacon Brendan Brides

This time of the year reminds me of the old sacristy I used to sit in as an altar boy some years ago waiting for Mass to start. There was nothing to do… we just sat there and waited in almost silence with the only disruption being the cadence kept by the ticking from the big old sacristy clock.

At this time of advent we are doing something similar: we are waiting, waiting for the arrival of Jesus. But unlike those “slothful” altar boys of yesteryear, there is much that we can do. Jesus tells us today that the harvest is abundant but the laborers few. We are the laborers, we are the workers, we are the ones called to step up to the plate and carry the message of Christ to those who need to hear it.

In a literal sense you don’t have to do exactly as Jesus asks: you don't have to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers or drive out demons - unless, of course, you have some experience in these fields. But we can reach out to someone in need, we can visit a neighbor that never get any visitors, we can get involved in a food pantry or some other worthy ministry.

Finally, today, Jesus tells us: “without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
What gift, from Jesus, will you "give" this Christmas and who will receive it?