"I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people.
Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the
Lord". (Lk.2:10-11).
My dear friends in Christ,
Today we celebrate an occasion of "great joy, a joy to be shared". (Lk.2:10). It is Christmas Day, the day on which, every year, we gather together as family because over two thousand years ago God, in the person of His Son, entered into a human family, that of Mary and Joseph, in the form of an innocent child, to bring to humankind the true reality of love, respect and peace. The angels, at his coming, sang: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to those who enjoy his favour" (Lk.2:14).
As we celebrate this momentous event in this year of the Lord 2004- and we really do celebrate it as a reality today because God is not conditioned by time or space - what of the "news of great joy" announced by the angels to the shepherds? Do we experience, in the here and now, a joy within us because "a saviour has been born to us, who is Christ the Lord"? (cf. Lk.2:11). Does the birth of the Child of Bethlehem mean anything to the vast majority of people today who are immersed in the secular and materialistic aspects of modern living? Do we have within us the capacity to delve deeper into the real meaning of Christmas or do we just skim along its surface being carried on by the commercial and emotional aspects of it? Can we, for a moment, just stop and take time out from the busy schedule of what has become a nightmare for some, a bonanza for others and with Mary, "ponder in our hearts" (cf. Lk. 2:19) the enormity of the event which is taking place, namely that God has looked on our world and, despite its deficiencies and lack of order and harmony, has loved it so much as to send His only Son "not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved" (Jn. 3:17). That is the meaning of the message of the angels to the shepherds: "Today, in the town of David, a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Lk. 2:11).
And what a world to be saved! With wars and violence being endemic, with human life being degraded by the use of drugs and the abuse of alcohol and the human person, made in the image and likeness of the Eternal God, being often manipulated in such a way as to become the plaything of society. And into this world of today, so technologically advanced and yet so dysfunctional, a world so beautiful and yet so frightening, comes the Child of Bethlehem, the ultimate expression of God's love for this world, reaching out to all of God's creatures and creation with his healing message of peace and love. Can the world not just stop before the humble stable of Bethlehem and ponder on the mystery enfolding today, the mystery of love eternal encapsulated in a "Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger?" (Lk. 2:12). Are we so sophisticated, so utterly self-sufficient, that we can treat this "child born to us" (Is. 9:5) as purely an occasion for an annual splurge which can leave us so deflated, both spiritually and materially? The answer to all these questions lies in the human heart, in the human spirit. We are capable of taking the Hand of God tendered to us from the stable of Bethlehem, indeed we need to, because we are made for Him and "our hearts will not rest until they rest in Him" (St. Augustine). Despite all the hustle and bustle, we can and we must grasp the message of Christmas.
The message of Christmas is fundamentally about love, about healing and caring, about family; about love because the Child Jesus came to tell each one of us, no matter who we are or from where we come, that we are totally and unconditionally loved by His Father; about healing and caring since He it was who would heal us from our brokenness through his own wounds and suffering, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah: "He took our sicknesses away and carried our diseases for us" ; about family as it was into a human family he was born and he would spend the formative years of his life on earth under his parents authority (cf. Lk. 2:51), thus consecrating every human family in love.
Christmas is a time for sharing and caring, a time for healing and reconciliation, a time for giving a hand to those in need and speaking a word of comfort to those who suffer and are bereaved. It is a time for family gatherings and for finding in everyone, especially in the children, the image and imprint of an all-loving God who came to us in the form of a child.
May Christmas 2004 be for all an occasion of great peace and joy. May all who pay a visit to the Crib, whether it be in the Church or in the home, accept the thrust of love represented by the Child and experience the healing power of the all-loving God. May the children of the world, in whose innocent glance at the Crib scene is reflected the beauty and innocence of the Child Jesus, be for all a stimulus to take seriously the message of Christmas and put into practice the legacy He left us when He said:
"I give you a new commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another" (Jn. 13:34).
Heal the world with love, the love of Jesus Christ! A happy and a blessed Christmas to all!