Christmas 2024 messages: Anglican Diocese of NW Australia Bishop Darrell Parker on gift of giving

What a massive load of complete rubbish! I distinctly remember the day when I was about 10 years old complaining to my dear mum that it was a real pain having to buy my brother and sister a present at Christmas. Spending hard-earned pocket money on siblings seemed such a waste. On hearing my complaint, my mum launched into one of her longest-ever lectures around the notion that it was always better to give than to receive. At the tender age of 10, I now thought I’d heard everything. Better to give than receive? She simply had to be joking. How could that possibly be right? Every kid with half a brain could have told my mum that the good stuff about Christmas was in the getting. Getting presents was what made Christmas, well, Christmas. How utterly wrong that selfish greedy little boy was. Christmas is not about getting — it never has been. At the very heart of Christmas is the giving of the greatest ever gift. God gave us his Son — his very self. Yet this gift came with a profound twist. This most generous of gifts was given to a race of people who since time and life began had steadfastly ignored or rebelled against the one who gave it to them. Eventually we decided we thought so little of our maker’s gift that we nailed him to a tree! That little 10-year-old boy needed a lesson in where true value lay. Jesus tells us: Whoever wants to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will gain it (Mark 8:35). It’s in the giving (surrendering) our life to Jesus that real life is truly found. Whadayouknow, Christmas really is about giving. Who’d have thought?