winter 2020 Newsletter
By John Johnstone, Inner Hope Cultural Mentor
When I think about Christmas from a First Nations perspective, what comes to mind is the way of gift giving. I was out for lunch with a couple of coworkers at a conference, a soup and sandwich type deal, and one of the guys said to the other “Wow, that’s a good looking sandwich you’ve got”. Without missing a beat, the other guy picked up half of his sandwich and handed it over. “Wait, I don’t want your sandwich”, the first guy said, and the other laughed. “This is our way, you just have to accept it.” In First Nations culture, giving is a way of honouring and blessing another person, to the point where it hurts. The point is simply to give, and not worry about how it makes you look.
When I think about Christmas from a First Nations perspective, what comes to mind is the way of gift giving. I was out for lunch with a couple of coworkers at a conference, a soup and sandwich type deal, and one of the guys said to the other “Wow, that’s a good looking sandwich you’ve got”. Without missing a beat, the other guy picked up half of his sandwich and handed it over. “Wait, I don’t want your sandwich”, the first guy said, and the other laughed. “This is our way, you just have to accept it.” In First Nations culture, giving is a way of honouring and blessing another person, to the point where it hurts. The point is simply to give, and not worry about how it makes you look.
The economy of First Nations is showing your wealth by how much you give away, but in Western society, we show wealth by how much we consume. This leaks into Christmas. Celebrating God’s ultimate gift, His Son, has turned into a powerful marketing scheme. Christmas marketing starts before Remembrance day nowadays, because there’s so much to consume. The sacrificial giving has been lost to materialism.
God honours sacrificial giving. We see this in the gift of His Son, and in the story of the widow with her two copper coins. This Christmas, think about ways to give that honour God and our neighbours.
God honours sacrificial giving. We see this in the gift of His Son, and in the story of the widow with her two copper coins. This Christmas, think about ways to give that honour God and our neighbours.