A reading from the Holy Gospel
according to John.
In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All
things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into
being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of
all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome
it.
There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might
believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to
the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the
world.
He was in the world, and the world
came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what
was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received
him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who
were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but
of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived
among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full
of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom
I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”)
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was
given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever
seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has
made him known. (John 1,1-18)
Today, Christians all over the world
are celebrating Christmas. Unfortunately, some celebrate it only as a winter
festival without letting Christ occupy his rightful place in what is really,
and always has been, His birthday. Others are not allowed to celebrate their
Christian faith and are persecuted, some of whom are killed mercilessly, as
Jesus himself pointed out (Lk 21, 12-19). Many, many others celebrate this day
in a Christian way and do all they can for people to put Christ back into
Christmas and in their lives.
Christmas comes for us to remember
that through His birth Jesus brings us a very important message: “It is good,
beautiful and important to be an ‘ordinary’ human being!” Jesus repeated this
message throughout his life on earth. The gospels kept silent about Christ’s
private life before starting his public mission, not because there was nothing
to say about that period in His life. In fact this silence is more eloquent in
proclaiming His Christmas message. All those years in which He lived with His
family, obedient to his parents, and earning his living as a carpenter, tell us
how important it is to live the simple life of a normal human being. The gospel
writers reported people from His hometown saying: “Is he not one of us? Isn’t
he the carpenter? We know his family!” (cfr Mt 13, 55). “He lived among us, and
we saw his glory”, John tells us.
How beautiful it would be if we try
to celebrate the Christmas message every day of our lives. We can, if we
consider the joy with which Jesus lived his hidden life just being human and
living with his family and friends, his joy in living with simple people
helping and encouraging them during what we call His public life. We can if we
consider how Jesus used his creativity, his generosity and his joy in being
with others. We can live our Christian joy even while facing difficulties and
problems, as Jesus did.
The mystery of the Incarnation, the
Word of God becoming flesh and dwelling among us like anyone of us (Cf Jn 1,
14), is God’s response to Adam and Eve’s effort to be like God (Cfr Gen 3, 1-7).
People are still cultivating this dream, not really accepting the fact that
they are ‘normal’ human beings.
People do not take seriously enough
what Psalm 82 (v. 6) states: “I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all
of you!” We frequently forget what John tells us: “See what love the Father has
given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.”
(1 John 3:1) Because we do not take God’s words seriously enough and we tend to
forget them, we are still trying to be like God, with disastrous results. If we
take heed of God’s words and His project for us, we will truly accept our
humanity and enjoy the fact that we are God’s children, the nearest we can be
to being God!
Being human makes us children of the
Lord our God (Cfr Deut 14:1). This is
the message Baby Jesus brings us on Christmas day. This is the message we need
to hear and to heed. It is reinforced by the choir of angels singing to the
shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks by night: “Glory to God in
the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!” (Lk 2, 14)
The glory of God shines in humankind to whom peace on earth is entrusted.
Remember the creation story: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and
subdue it” (Gen 1, 28) God told Adam and Eve. He gave man the power to name the
beasts of the earth, the birds and every living creature (Cfr Gen 2, 18-20),
making human beings partners in running the earth and taking care of it.
In his Christmas story, Luke does
not tell us at what time Jesus was born, but he tells us when His birth was
announced to the shepherds. This tells us that in our dark hours, in difficult
times, we should be watchful so we could listen to the Good News, verify it and
announce it to others, as the shepherds did.
We are living in very difficult
times that for many are times of persecution and often death. It is therefore
important to do our best to put Christ back into Christmas, to listen to the
Christmas message and rejoice in our humanity. Let us scrap the dream of
becoming like God. It will not be easy to do this as we are being targeted by
the media and pushed in the opposite direction to the empty dream of be ‘super’
or ‘perfect’, a false perfection frequently retouched by computer programs.
Yes, Jesus asks us to be perfect but as His Father is perfect. God’s perfection
can only be approached if we simply and joyfully accept our humanity, as Jesus
did.
History tells us that those who wanted
to be like God, and thought that they had enough power to be like Him, or worse
still, not to need Him at all, have made themselves tyrants and brought much
suffering to many people. I am not referring only to people with political
powers. I am also referring to those who in their small worlds (family, work,
associations of all kinds) behave as if they were God and want for themselves
all power and that they have the final word.
Let us remember St. Paul’s words:
“For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might
become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Let us ask Him the grace to follow his example and
appreciate our humanity, and become “prophet[s] of the Most High … [and] give
knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the
tender mercy of our God the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light
to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into
the way of peace.” (Lk 1, 76-79).
Let us rejoice in being ‘normal’
human beings!
A blessed and happy Christmas to you
all.
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