“What Do You Want for Christmas?”

Religion in Daily Life (c) By the Rev. Edward Chinn, D.Min. Rector, All Saints’ Church 9601 Frankford Ave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19114 (215) 637-5225 Written 28 November 2001 http://www.allsaintstorresdale.org

“What do you want for Christmas?” Your relatives and friends are trying to figure out the answer to that question right now without asking you. This question raises another question: “What do you really need compared to what you want?” There’s a difference between what children and adults want for Christmas.

Children want the presents they care about. Michael K. Meyerhoff, Ed.D., recalls the present he cared about when he was twelve years old. His idol was Yogi Berra, catcher for the New York Yankees. Michael wanted to be a catcher, but he was left-handed. Though he had no left-handed catcher’s mitt, he did catch for his team. However, everyone else on the team had shoes with cleats on them. Michael had to wear sneakers. A pair of baseball shoe with cleats cost over $20 in those days. Despite Michael’s pleadings, his parents did not buy him cleats. When the holidays came, Michael’s hopes soared. When the day came, Michael found a box with his name on it. It was bigger than a shoebox. He ripped it open and didn’t find shoes. He found a custom-made left-handed catcher’s mitt. Though Michael still wore sneakers to the games, he knew his parents spent far more for that glove. He felt overwhelmed by their love.

Adults want the presence of those they care about. As we go from childhood to adulthood, we go from “presents” to “presence.” I am reminded of words from one of Jesus’ first followers, Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul). He wrote: “When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways” (1 Corinthians 13:11, NJB). The Christmas song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” captures how we put the presence of a person above presents from a person. As the song from my favorite TV show, Cheers, used to say, we long to be in a place where “Everybody knows your name.”

In her column in Newsweek (December 3, 2001), Anna Quindlen writes about the current “notion that buying stuff at this moment in history constitutes a patriotic act, propping up the economy in the face of enemy attack.” Instead, Quindlen points out that this year could be rich with lessons. “You know that if those people whose family members died on September 11 could have them back for Christmas, the last thing on their minds would be a sweater or tie.” They’d be willing to trade presents for the presence of the one they love.