Jesus, the Infant God-Man

By the late  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. Only the starry firmament gleams 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 around the world celebrate this blessed night with emotion some in snow-covered cottages of the far north; others in mud huts in the deserts of Africa; others again deep underground in mines, or in small cabins on the high seas.

Wherever Christian hearts beat, this holy night, the night of joy, love, harmony and reconciliation, this Christmas night, is the cause of our joy.

We want to find ourselves in God, whose Son appeared as one of us, entering history as somebody alive, who maintains contact with us every moment of our lives.

Purify our hearts

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 may 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 will not receive the magnificent gift of Jesus, his life and peace, after completing the act of forgiveness, if we do not purify our hearts of old griefs and angers. Let us then forgive all trespasses, set right our own, give a smile of love and forgiveness, and the Christ child will live in our hearts.

Prophecies about Christ’s coming are a fact of history. Jesus came into this world to sacrifice his life. Today, within our families, we need sacrifice in everyday life, because without love and sacrifice no family life is possible. We need peace in our homes, to grasp properly these fundamental truths of Christ’s coming.

We Find Our Purpose

Christmas is the cross-roads of God to humankind, and humankind to God. Jesus Christ brings deliverance to us 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 humankind finds itself, discovers the value and potential of its heart, and finds its right place in the world.

Christ was born in Bethlehem, a town which notwithstanding its insignificant geographical position is known to the whole world. Bethlehem means house of bread. It is at the end of 15km of rugged, winding road among mountains. There God met humanity, to help it in life’s difficulties.

He was always a firm rock from which the living waters of salvation could be drawn, the water of life. He alone did not succumb to doubts, to the tremors of the epoch, or political systems.

Every year we rejoice in this event, but year in and year out, in this meeting of God with humankind, different thoughts and events occupy our minds and hearts. Political turmoil, in which some survive and others are overthrown, yielding to new parties which promise happiness. Can they deliver?

Love in Each Word, Each Deed

Christ has come to save us. His relationship to us must always be personal, as must the Church’s. St Augustine said: “Love, and do what you like.” This principle binds all. Through love we must understand all that we do. Love must enliven each word, each deed, each glance.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Mgr Jan Jaworski died in 2008