Merry Christmas to all. Tonight, we stop. We step out of the rush, away from the lists and the lights, and we listen. We listen for the echo of a song that once shattered the silent, ordinary night for a group of shepherds. The song was simple but overwhelming: “Good news! A Saviour is born—for everyone.” And then the promise: “Peace… to people of good will.” That’s the heart of it. A Saviour. Peace. But to feel the warmth of that news, we have to admit the cold we live in. We have to be honest about why we need saving. It’s not usually about dramatic evils. It’s about the prisons we build for ourselves, brick by brick, day by day. Think of the walls we put up. We divide the world into “us” and “them.” Our team, their team. Our beliefs, their mistakes. We lock ourselves in rooms of anger, or pride, or fear, or narcissism, and we think the walls are there to protect us. But they just make us lonely. We get trapped in the tight, airless space of our own worries—about money, about what people think, about never having enough or being enough. In that world, I am the star, the director, and the only audience in the tiny drama of “Me.” And the first casualty in that little prison is always others. We become selfish, not in a monster-like way, but in a quiet, tired way. I think of my own comfort first, my own time, my own needs, my ideas, my business, my parish. We walk right past people, not with hatred, but with a kind of blind indifference. That’s the shadow the Christmas Light comes to pierce. Because the Saviour wasn’t born in a palace behind high walls. He was born in the open vulnerability of a stable, in the midst of the mess and the smell of life. God came into our prison. He lay down in the straw of our human condition—our loneliness, our struggles, our tendency to build walls. He came to say, “I am here, in this with you. And I will show you the way out.” The way out is through the door of “the other.” The angels sang of peace for “people of good will.” Good will isn’t just feeling nice. It’s an active turning. It’s a choice to turn your will, your intention, away from yourself and toward the neighbour – toward anyone in need. Redemption is that simple, dramatic shift: from thinking of myself to thinking for you. From caring for my problems to caring about yours. It is the courage to put someone else’s need before your own want. And here is the beautiful, hidden secret of Christmas: This is where the joy is. The pure, lasting joy of this season isn’t found in the presents you get. It’s kindled in the love you give. It’s the flame that sparks inside you when you truly see someone—a tired parent, a lonely neighbor, a difficult relative—and you reach out. Not because you have to, but because your heart has been softened by the memory of a helpless, generous God in a manger. That intense, generous love is the salvation we’re offered. It saves us from our small, selfish selves. It breaks the locks on our psychological prisons. When you visit someone who is forgotten, when you forgive a wound you’ve carried, when you give without needing credit, you are stepping out of your dark cell and into the wide, star-lit fields of the shepherds. You are living the “good news.” You become part of the angel’s song. So tonight, as you look at the crib, don’t just see a sweet scene from long ago. See a mirror. See a call. What is the wall inside you that needs to come down? Is it a grudge you’re clinging to? A judgment you’ve made? A fear that keeps you from connecting? Offer that brick, that heavy, cold brick, to the Child in the straw. He came to receive it. Then, look around. Who needs your peace? Who needs a moment of your “good will”? It might be with a phone call, a prayer, a helping hand, or simply a patient, listening ear. May this Christmas not just be a day we celebrate, but a day that changes us. May the intense, generous love that came down from heaven reach out through our hands, our words, and our hearts. May we not just admire the Light, but become wicks for it, burning with a softer, warmer glow in the shadows of our world. That is how the Saviour is born again. Not in Bethlehem, but in you. In me. In us. A truly Merry, liberating, joyful Christmas to all.
The Nativity of the Lord Gospel: Luke 2:15-20; John 1:1-18 Witness of the Shepherd and John the Baptist
Today, following tradition, the Church will celebrate two Christmas Masses for Jesus, namely the Nativity of the Lord Mass at Dawn and the Nativity of the Lord Mass during the Day. Both Gospels share a common theme: testimony. St. Luke introduces us to the process of the shepherds who, upon hearing the angel’s announcement, went to Bethlehem and arrived at the manger where the infant Jesus was. Initially, they harboured doubts and even felt fear, but soon after, they began to attempt to go to Bethlehem to see the Messiah announced by the angel. Upon seeing the Messiah of God, they glorified and praised God continuously on their way back. St. John reveals to us the profound mystery of the Word of God and God’s creation, as well as the new creation that He began through John the Baptist. We can see the testimony of John the Baptist in his accounts. John the Baptist, who could have replaced Jesus, humbled himself and clearly pointed out to us that Jesus is the Messiah of God. As a disciple of John the Baptist, St. John, under the influence of John, decided to follow our Lord Jesus and become His disciple. From the accounts of these two sacred historians, we see a common theme: witness. In accordance with His providence, God chose the shepherds to proclaim to the world the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Moreover, in accordance with His holy will, He chose John the Baptist as the forerunner of Jesus Christ, preparing a suitable people for our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, God has likewise chosen us, inviting us to proclaim to the world the mystery of the Incarnation of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us emulate the shepherds and John the Baptist, living out the Word of God in our lives, and with a simple and generous attitude, proclaim to the world the joyful news of the Savior’s birth. I wish you all a joyous Christmas in the Lord Jesus!
您必须登录才能发表评论。