Reflection from Luke 2, 1-20
According
to this text, the message about the birth of Jesus is a message
of great joy for all, because the Saviour was born for all. Let us rejoice
because God loves us, he is in our midst and brings salvation to us! The
salvation is work of God but it performs itself on earth with the cooperation
of the human being. Let us take Mary and Joseph as example. In the simplicity
of the event and the people involved, it is manifested the greatness of God. This
reality confirms an African proverb which says, “simple people,
performing simple things and in simple places are able to change the world”.
The great changes that our society needs should happen inside the human
being. A new society will happen when each person realises the necessity of
changing himself/herself more than to try changing others. “The world will change if we start changing our
actions through our behaviour and our choices.” So, Christmas is time of changing behaviours and choices.
In Jesus, God became one of us, assuming our
human condition and offering new proposal of life. For that it is not enough to
acknowledge in Jesus the salvation of God; it is necessary to let ourselves be
guided by his message of peace and love. The birth of Jesus transformed all
human beings in a unique family, filling the hearts of joy, optimism and hope.
In fact, God reveals himself as neighbour, poor and rejected, inviting to recognise
the value of the small gestures and projects. Without
doubt this option of God letting us embarrassed, inviting us to think and to
act differently in everything. So,
Christmas is time of changing our mentality.
Another aspect very important to our
refection this night is about the shepherds, who were people usually despised
in the society. The shepherds were watchful people who look after the animals
around Bethlehem during the night. They were truly watchful, because in them
were very alive the sense of God and his nearness. They were the first people
to receive the great message of joy because their hearts were watchful. Only
the watchful heart is able to believe in good news and to expect better reality
in each new dawn. Only the watchful heart is able to have courage to start the
journey in order to meet God in unexpected places: in the reality of a small
child in a very poor place. So, Christmas
is time to look differently in order to see beyond and to make the difference
in the life of many people.
The Almighty God accepts the condition of a small
child, in total dependence of the human care and love. The faith leads us to recognise this small
child of Bethlehem in each child we meet in our daily journey. Each child
requests our love. Let us think today also, in a special way, about that
children who do not experience the love of their parents; about the street boys
who do not have a place to live; about the children who are used as soldiers,
transformed in instruments of violence, instead of being instruments of
reconciliation and peace; about the children who are victims of sexual abuse;
about the poor children who are forced to give their dreams up because of harsh
economic conditions. The Small child of
Bethlehem is a renewed appeal so that we give the best of ourselves in order to
end the tribulation of these children. May the light of Bethlehem touch our
hearts, making them sensible to this reality.
So,
Christmas is time of sensibility, developing attitudes of care and affection
with the ones who are need.
Although
we live in a consumer society, which distracts our attention from the
essential, we need to be watchful. Christmas is much more than consumption. It is
feast of the revelation of the Mystery of the love of God that transforms the
human heart, making sensible to the divine appeals. God loves us in gratuity and generosity,
without any merit of our part. This
experience should lead us to do the same thing He does.
Like this, Christmas will be more than one period in the year. It will
be Christmas always if we learn to love truly and to put more effort to
up-building the fraternal and righteous society for the good of all.
Have a Merry Christmas!
Fr. Ndega
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