from Pastor Cal Boroughs
One of my favorite Christmas stories is O Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. It drips with sentimentality which is why I love it – just as I love watching It’s A Wonderful Life. The Gift of the Magi is the story of a young and very poor couple at Christmas time. For Christmas, Della buys her husband, Jim, a fob chain for his prized pocket watch. To afford the chain Della has her long, beautiful hair cut and sells it to a wig maker. Jim sells his prized pocket watch in order to buy the hair combs that Della has always longed for to decorate her hair. O Henry closes the short story with these words:
The magi, as you know, were wise men – wonderfully wise men – who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
“Two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house.” This brings to mind Tim Keller who, in his new book The Prodigal God (better known as the story of The Prodigal Son), writes:
The word ‘prodigal’ does not mean ‘wayward’ but, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, ‘recklessly spendthrift.’ It means to spend until you have nothing left. This term is therefore as appropriate for describing the father in the story as his younger son. The father’s welcome to the repentant son was literally reckless, because he refused to ‘reckon’ or count his sin against him or demand repayment. This response offended the elder son and most likely the whole community.
In this story the father represents the Heavenly Father Jesus knew so well. St. Paul writes: ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses’ (2 Corinthians 5:19 – American Standard Version). Jesus is showing us the God of Great Expenditure, who is nothing if not prodigal toward us, his children. God’s reckless grace is our greatest hope, a life-changing experience….
This Advent season we celebrate this reckless grace - an act that would seem so foolish to some. But to those who have eyes to see, a gift of great love.