I live on a street of small gift shops and boutiques, and their storefront displays entice us to enter buy something for ourselves or someone we care about. Every gift we buy is a symbol of our love for another person. At Christmas, we buy countless gifts and wrap them up in bright and shiny paper to concretely show our love.

Each one of us is like a beautiful gift, all wrapped up and waiting to be delivered and cause joy to someone else. We are meant to be slowly unwrapped , allowing the gift of who God created us to become, to be made “present.” This “unwrapping ” occurs when we GIVE of ourselves … When we share the talents and resources God had entrusted us to be given away, freely, and at times , lavishly.

The more we live a life of sharing and gratitude for what had been given, the more we are “exposed” for who we really and truly are : a gift from God to make the world a place where He can visit and dwell. In the humanity of Jesus, God “pitched his tent,” found a place to live, to live a life of sharing to the point of giving his life as the Ultimate Gift, that became completely unwrapped and unveiled on the Cross.
The Incarnation of Christ is God’s gift, a real, flesh and blood, concrete Human Being: God became one of us!!!! Divinity was “wrapped up” in humanity. Now, God needs YOU and your humanity as a place to dwell.

As the parable teaches in the gospel, our lives have been given to us by God so that we give them back, share them , with the world. A life of sharing is one in which the hidden God is made visible when we feed the hungry, satisfy the thirsty, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned , volunteer on a regular basis, being part of a solution and not adding to a problem.
Like the gold coin in the parable, your life is meant to be like an investment that gives interest on return.
The interest rate on a life of sharing comes in the form of eternal JOY. Not a bad return…

Buen camino. Padre.