Time and eternity meet on crossroads
Wherever Christian hearts beat, the holy night of Christmas draws millions together, writes Mgr JAN JAWORSKI.
During the silent and holy night, Jesus Christ the infant God/man comes into this world. Stillness reigns, nearby Bethlehem is asleep, and so are the other hamlets. Only the star-spangled firmament lights up with God’s brilliance (Luke 2:9) while the heavenly troops descend to earth to proclaim the great joy to the simple but righteous shepherds who keep vigil over their charges.
Millions of Christians dispersed all over the world celebrate this blessed night with emotion. Some in the snow-covered cottages of the far north, others in mud huts in the deserts of Africa; yet others deep underground in mines, or in the cabins of ships on the high seas. Wherever Christian hearts beat, this holy night, the night of joy, love, harmony and reconciliation, this Christmas night is celebrated.
On this evening we concentrate on ourselves; we at least want to find ourselves in God. The Son of God appeared as one of us — as man he bound himself to us for ever and became one of us. Thus Christ entered the history of humankind as somebody alive, who maintains constant contact.
Contemplating this example of the pure and most perfect love of our Saviour for us, let us grasp its essence and bring ourselves to have at least a small part of Jesus’ love. Let us this day forgive all who have wronged us and remove from our hearts all the thorns of hurts we have received; let us try to forget them. This is the most important and fundamental condition of the mystery of the Bethlehem night, the night of love and forgiveness. We shall not receive this magnificent gift of Jesu s— love and peace after completing the act of forgiveness — if we do not purify our hearts of old grief and anger. Let us then forgive all trespasses, set right our own, give a smile of love and forgiveness and the Christ child shall live in our hearts.
Prophecies about Christ’s coming are a historical fact. Jesus came into this world to sacrifice his life. Today within our families we need sacrifice in everyday life, since without love and sacrifice no family life is possible. We need peace in our homes in order to grasp properly these fundamental truths of Christ’s coming.
Christmas is a crossroad — God with man, and man with God. Jesus Christ brings deliverance to man through love. Christ introduced us into the orbit of the love which gives life, which has sent God to earth and leads us to him. It is only in this that man finds himself, discovers the value and potential of his heart and finds his right place in the world.
Christ was born in Bethlehem, a town which notwithstanding its insignificant geographical position is known to the whole world. “Bet-Lehem” means the house of bread. This locality is situated at the end of 15km of a poor, rugged, winding road among the mountains. There God became human; there God met humanity, in order to help it in life’s difficulties. He as God was always, a firm rock from which the living waters of salvation could be drawn, the enlivening waters of life. He alone did not succumb to doubts, to the tremors of the epoch or to political systems.
Every year we rejoice in this event, but year in and year out, in this meeting of God with man, different thoughts and different events prevail over our hearts.
Before our eyes political changes take place. Some political systems survive, other take precedence. Some governing parties are overthrown, and in their place arise new parties who promise happiness to mankind. But can they deliver?
At every step we meet with economic strife; these in turn induce a lack of confidence. A lack of confidence induces strikes; strikes create adversities of life for humankind, and in consequence, humankind perishes.
The task of Christ is to save mankind. Hence in Bethlehem for the conquest of the world, Jesus took on childlike dimensions. His relationship to man is always individual. At the same time, in spite of the fact that the Church socially embraces hundreds of millions of people, her relation to each person is always individual. This is the best evidence that it does not place any specific norms.
There is a moral principle expressed by St Augustine: “Love God, and do what you like.” This principle binds all. Through love we must understand all that we do. We are to enliven each word, each glance, each deed. This is the teaching flowing out of the manger of Bethlehem!
Christmas is the great mystery of the meeting of God with man. This is why we celebrate this feast so joyfully. This is a feast of the family par excellence, and we, in this family of priests gathered round the host of the diocese, the successors of the apostles, wish each other the best wishes of solidarity in our priestly college, and health as the prerogative of every activity and blessing of God.
We must have the conviction that priesthood is without any doubt the greatest gift we have received from God. And the kind of priests we are is our gift to God and diocese. It is the symbol of our solidarity as priests.
The times which we as Christians of the 21st century experience from the will of Providence, are moving as if towards an unknown destination. They are marked not only by helplessness, fed by materialistic poverty, and the uncertainty of tomorrow, but above all they are marked by the calling of every person for peace, joy and love. And in this cry of despair, each of us must return repeatedly to the stable, to the manger, and draw new strength and power for our journey, to the further service of others, to whom we wish a joyful Christmas.
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