Prayer Forum

annie · Joined: 11 Dec 2009 Posts: 15

There is no celebration as joyous and sacrosanct as Christmas in the Church, in the liturgy or even in literature. Christmas has been the progenitor of many superb masterpieces in diverse areas like religion, literature, painting and arts. Christmas is the big event in which God the Father gives his only begotten Son as the great gift for us.

The Letters of Paul are the earliest of the New Testament Books. Gal 4:4-5 can be considered as the preface to Christmas. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” Along with this we also should read Jn 3:16-17 and 1 Jn 4:9-10: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” The gist of Christmas contains in two verbs – sent and redeemed. Although not exactly alike, at the beginning of their Gospels Matthew and Luke describe the nativity of Christ. Matthew gives greater importance to the role of the Holy Spirit in Mary’s conception of Jesus. Matthew reveals that Christmas means God is with us (1:18-25).

Luke writes quite extensively about the birth of Jesus. He has taken greater care to present the social and historical perspective of the Incarnation. It is worth our notice that it was the poor shepherds who were given the good news first about the birth of the Messiah. “To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk 2:11).

It shows salvation will be attained by even sinners, the poor and the marginalized. The hymn of the angelic hosts indicates that in Christmas there is the fusion of divinity and humanity. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours” (Lk 2:14).

John makes the meaning of the Incarnation of the Word (Logos), Jesus, clear through an excellent symbolic usage. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (1:14). In the fullness of time, the Word which was one with the Father from the beginning of times, which was the wisdom and thought of the Father from eternity, took human flesh and was born in this world. Thus God became part of the humanity. Nothing of ours is alien to him any more.

Except in sin, he became just like us in all other matters (Heb 4:14). Now it is easy for us to understand who and what God is. We have got the assurance that he loves us infinitely. We have been given the solacing thought that he walks with us even in our weaknesses, sufferings, anguishes and anxieties. The Incarnation has attached God to all the everyday happenings of human existence. Thus human life has attained a fresh meaning and greater glory. Jesus came to dwell with us after relinquishing his existence in the consummate glory of heaven. He took the form of a slave (Phil 2:7). To become one with the poorest of the poor, he chose to be born in a manger. He thus became a friend of the wounded, the helpless and the naked. He descended as far as the earth to raise us up as high as heaven. Jesus came as the light of the world (Jn 1:9). He did that for us to have life.

When we receive him freely and generously, we get eternal life. He does not impose anything on us. We can receive him or reject him. “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11). This is a fact that is still true today. Injustice, corruption, intolerance, inequality, violence, jealousy, discriminations based on caste and creed, exploitation, selfishness, hatred – all these are signs of this rejection. Darkness tries to engulf light. It is highly consoling that even amidst these rejections we can see rays of hope.

There are still people, albeit few in number, who have chosen justice, truth, love and unselfishness. Following the model of Jesus, who came to this world and offered himself as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of others, there are still some people who are compassionate and willing to do good to others. They give not only their wealth but also themselves in the service of men. Those people receive grace upon grace from Him (Jn 1:16). The abundance of these graces enables them to serve others more. It is the blessing of Christ. The Incarnation of Christ gives us the message of enhancing our virtues. Thus we can be more divine, more loving, more faithful, more hopeful, and more desirous to learn and work more and thus become the true children of God. All these things do not happen because of our intelligence or skill. It all happens because of the grace, mercy and power of God. The Incarnation exhorts each and everyone to work for the welfare and well-being of all.

To be able to achieve this kind of increase in our virtues, we should rely on Jesus. We should endeavour to know more about God and the mystery of his infinite love. So man has first to be led to Christ (Love in Truth, 1 Cool

. Let this Christmas help us to know who we are and what we should be. Christmas demands from us a switch over, a transformation, from selfishness to love, from bondage to freedom, from cowardice to courage and from limitations to liberty. Christmas is the feast in which God shared himself with men. It teaches us the importance of sharing. God gave peace and joy to the mankind which had lost all hope.

Just like the Father showed compassion to us through his Son, we too should do what we can to alleviate the sufferings of our poorer brethren. Mary, who prepared herself for the first Christmas, is the right model for us. As soon as she was given the Good News, she rushed to serve Elizabeth (Lk 1:39). Thus Mary teaches us that helping those in need and serving them is the best preparation for Christmas. On his glorious second coming, Jesus will be rewarding those who serve the poor amongst whom he dwells (Mt 251-46). Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah had predicted the mission of the Messiah.

He said that the Messiah will be a light to those who walk in darkness, he will straighten all those that are crooked, he will reestablish the pristine glory of the universe, he will administer righteousness, joy and peace to mankind. He will give solace and prosperity to the poor, the downtrodden and the marginalized (Is 7:14-17; 9:1-17; 11:1-9). When he came to this world, this is precisely what Jesus did. He became a sheltering haven to all those tossed and torn by the ill winds of fortune. Christmas becomes meaningful to us when we too, become ready and eager to help those in need and in trouble.

Just like the Father gave us his son as a free gift, we too should be ready to give worthy gifts to others. Pope Benedict XVI exhorts us to give freely for the welfare of the world, for its development and prosperity (Love in Truth, 37). It is when we share what we have with others, we practise the principle of sharing. Our ultimate aim is comprehensive humanity which was engendered with the nativity of Christ.
Rev. Dr Jose K
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Whatever you do is…

DON'T STOP HOPING…
DON'T STOP TRUSTING….
DON'T STOP TRYING…….