Readings: Is. 52:7-10; Heb. 1:1-6; John 1:1-18
Christmas is about sharing God’s Love!
Today, we celebrate the birth of Christ the King. The birth of a child, especially the firstborn, always brings great joy to the parents and family. The first reading captures this joy thus: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation and saying to Zion, 'Your God is King!”” The birth of Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, brings us peace and joy. Yes, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. It brings people together to share what they have: cards, food, gifts, and songs of joy. Let us sing with the Psalmist, “All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.”
The readings at this Mass all have the theme of joy and triumph. The birth of Christ is the dawn of a new day; it is much more than a superficial celebration of joy. The joy of Christmas goes deeper in all its ramifications. It shows God has a love for humanity, transcending mere emotions. For Christ is the communication of God to the world. The second reading tells us that God speaks to us through his Son, “Whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word.” Therefore, Christ came into the world primarily to “Save his people from their sins.” (Mat. 1:21). He came for the liberation of his people: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” (Lk.4:18-19).
We must have the proper disposition to celebrate Christ's birth fittingly. That means being for others what Christ has been to us. As he was sent to bring solace to the oppressed and the poor, we must do whatever we can to alleviate the sufferings of others in our midst. Christmas is the beginning of living for others, not the end. Our Christmas songs should not end on Christmas day but should initiate us into a life of service for others. Howard Thurman captured what should happen after Christmas in these words: “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among all, to make music in the heart.”
Let me end this reflection with this Christmas story. “A certain company has a tradition of holding a party and a lottery every Christmas Eve. The rules of the lottery draw are as follows: each employee pays ten dollars as a fund. There are three hundred people in the company. In other words, a total of three thousand dollars can be raised. The winner takes all the money home. On the day of the lottery draw, the office was filled with a lively atmosphere. Everyone wrote their names on a slip of paper and put them in the lottery box.
However, a young man, Karl, hesitated when he wrote. He thought that the company’s cleaner had a frail and sickly son who was going to have an operation recently. Still, she needed the money to pay for the operation. This made her very troubled. So, even though he knew that the chance of winning was slim, with only a three percent chance, Karl wrote the name of the Cleaner on the note. The tense moment came. The boss stirred the slips in the lottery box and finally drew out a note. Karl also prayed in his heart: I hope the Cleaner can win the prize… Then, the boss carefully announced the winner's name. A miracle has happened! The winner turned out to be the Cleaner! Cheers broke out in the office, and the Cleaner hurriedly came to the stage to accept the award. She burst into tears and said movingly: I am so lucky! With this money, my son has hope to live!
Karl paced to the lottery box as the party was in progress while thinking about this "Christmas miracle." He took out another piece of paper and opened it casually. The name on it was also the name of the Cleaner! Karl was sincerely surprised. He took out several pieces of the slip of paper one after another. Although their handwriting was different, the names were all the same. All of them were the names of the Cleaner! Then Karl's eyes were red tears of joy. “He understood there was a Christmas miracle in the world, but the miracle would not fall from the sky. People are required to create it by themselves.” On this Christmas, let us go out and join the many whose concern is to create a Christmas miracle in the lives of the many who need it. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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