A father asked his son what he wanted for his birthday. The son replied that he wanted a ball.

"What kind of a ball?" the father asked.

"If you will have time to be with me, I would like a football so that we can toss it to one another. If you can’t spend time with me, the I would like a soccer ball so that I can play with my friends."

The father was very touched. The son was more interested in the giver of the gift than in the gift.

Fathers are important not for what they give but for who they are to their children.

Do we focus on the gifts that God the Father gives us or on the giver of the gifts who is God?

God has taken the first step in our relationship with him. In the first reading God tells Moses

that he will bear him up on eagles’ wings and hold him in the palm of his hand. St. Paul tells us in the second reading that God, the Father, took the first step in saving us by his son dying upon the cross and rising for us. The Gospel tells us that Jesus gave his followers the gifts to heal the sick, preach the good news, and expel demons.