Holy Christmas 2019
Christmas means Hope: the Hope of a second chance, an endless second chance that God gives me. God has never expected me to deserve God's mercy! How blessed am I! To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God (Jn 1:12). That is Hope! I receive hope as I receive the Lord today!
The fact of migration of persons was once upon a time an international issue, later it became a national issue with various nations taking diverse stands and deciding what they would do. Today it has become a communal issue people divided and polarised, in many cases by forces that are evil minded. There is a need to keep the hope alive, that there is a new world somewhere, a new humanity, a true Reign of God, for every person on earth.
Christmas means Love: God so loved the world that he sent his only son (Jn 3:16). There is no end to the Love that God has for me. The Mercy of God abounds all around me! When I receive this love, when I truly receive this love, I will be transformed into love. If I am not transformed into love, I have not received that love. Today the task for me is to receive that love truly... become merciful, as merciful as the loving Father.
Look at the cases of abuse of persons, abuse of all kinds, including that of the women, children and the weak. They are all because of the reduction of an understanding of love to merely liking and pleasure than true love and good of the other. The incarnation is the epitome of love, love which is essentially giving and just giving, a total self giving, and not receiving or exploiting! Can we give true love a chance today?
Christmas means Joy: The joy of the Saviour...the joy that cannot be taken away from me, the joy that I have in coming to understand that I am never alone. That your joy may be complete (Jn 15:11). A joy that comes from the right perspective to life, right priorities in life and the Lord's principles for life : a life of true mercy and forgiveness.
People who are oppressed due to do many inhuman conditions arising out of innumerable socio economic policies and practices, people who have nothing and no one to rely on... What kind of a joy can we expect them to have? What role am I playing to further the cause of their joy? What kind of sacrifices am I ready for, in order that they may have joy, the real joy that the Lord has given me.
Christmas means Peace: The Lord be with you is synonymous to Peace be with you! Where the Lord is there is peace. Let our hearts not be troubled (Jn 14:27), for the Lord is always with us. That is the message of Christmas, that the Lord came to be with us, to stay with us, to live amidst us, to dwell among us. Peace comes where Mercy resides.
Understanding and dialogue leads to peace, while pride and egoism leads to strife. Celebrating the coming of the Lord would make no sense of I am not ready for dialogue as my way of living. It has to become the basic perspective of life. Only a person ready for dialogue can truly understand the mystery of incarnation for it is basically a dialogue between the glory of divinity and the longing of humanity. How prepared am I to set aside my prefabricated ideas and truly listen with an open heart and mind to the other?
Christmas is hope, love, joy and peace - those experiences humanity longs for today. The Lord brings it to us, provided we are prepared and ready to receive them.
May your life be filled today with hope, love joy and peace. Merry Christmas.
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