The Christmas Event

‘Happiness at Christmas is remembering the people who mean so much all through the year’. This line in a greeting card is the starting spark of my Christmas Novena Sermonette. Remembering can have a lot of value and meaning in life. We are all on the preparation for the great day of Christmas celebration. Every celebration is, in a sense, a profound remembering of the person we celebrate, of the event we celebrate, and remembering the wonderful surprises brought by the Lord. Here, the person we celebrate is the Lord Jesus as an Infant with smiles and cries in the manger; the event we celebrate is the birth of the long awaited Messiah who would redeem the world from the shadow of sin; the wonderful surprises are – virgin giving birth, the heavenly Prince having no place in the city of king David, the multitude of angels singing praises, the shepherds rejoicing over the Good news, the three wise-men patiently following the star to offer their gifts for the King of wisdom, the list can go on... How can we count or limit the surprises of God’s plan? Dear friends, whatever we have stated here, are mere events focusing on Christmas. Now, the question is what about the experiences of Christmas? So far we heard about the historical moment of Christmas, what about the historical movement of Christmas?

Christmas as an event is just one day in the year. Christmas as an experience can be a joyful feature of everyday life. Events come and go as they are, but the experiences stay longer and grow stronger in the journey of life. So, dear friends, what is our choice for Christmas 2017 – an event? or an experience? Nothing happens by chance in God’s plan; God’s choices are indeed beyond our comprehension. With our limited reason can we understand and appreciate the mystery of incarnation? Now, let me try to explain such mystery in the experiences found in the salvific-history chalked out by the Lord.

  

The experience of incarnation can be traced out in the creation story itself. In creation, God gave His Image and Likeness to humankind (Gen 1:26). In incarnation, Jesus was being born in human likeness and being found in human form (Phil 2:7). In the creation narrative, the Word who was God creates: “Let there be Light” (Gen 1:3). In the experience of incarnation, the Word became flesh and lived among us (Jn 1:14). Precisely here creation and incarnation make a splendid blending for Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). To reflect further, the annunciation also has a place in the experience of our first parents. When sin entered into the picture, concomitantly, the Saviour’s birth was foretold. Please join me in the voyage of discovering the incarnational elements found in the eternal design of God. Remember the story of the ark of Noah, wherein God saw all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth (Gen 6:12) and the experience of the stable in Bethlehem, wherein the divine flesh cleansed and cured the corruption of human flesh. Remember Abram, called to go from his country and from his father’s house, and baby Jesus came from his heavenly Father and from the seat of the Son of God. Just ponder over Abraham and Sarah experiencing the promise of a son, where Sarah laughed (Gen 18:12) with rejection; and compare with that of Joseph and Mary, where the blessed mother questioned (Lk 1:34) with acceptance. Remember the story of Joseph (Gen 42-) in Old Testament saving his brothers from famine and death? Here, in New Testament the righteous Joseph, saving Mary from disgrace and from being stoned to death. These Josephs experienced Christmas even in dreams. What about us?

I hope you are quite interested in this voyage, shall we continue? Now we reach Moses fleeing to Midian, because Pharaoh sought to kill him (Exo 2:15). Remember the Holy Family’s flee to Egypt, because Herod searches to kill the new born King of the Jews. Dear friends, like this we can move from Christmas event to Christmas experience. Let us remember the song of Moses in Exodus (15:1-18) and the song of Mary in Luke (1:46-55) both extraordinary expressions of the experience of God – The Lord is with us and has done marvels for us. What song, a personal one, do we have for Christmas? Then comes the law or the prophets of the Old Testament, here we have the One who is the fulfilment of the living Word (Mt 5:17-18). Remember the birth of Samson, the one separated for or consecrated to God (Judg 13:5) with the boy Jesus’ question in the Jerusalem Temple: Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? (Lk 2:49). If so, what is Christmas for us as consecrated religious? Let us compare the growth of Samuel (1 Sam 3:19) and that of the child Jesus (Lk 2:52), who increased in wisdom and in divine favour. Remember a little shepherd boy anointed (1 Sam 16:13) as the king over Israel and of the son of a carpenter from Nazareth (Mt 13:55) establishing His kingdom on earth. The voyage can proceed further with Solomon’s wisdom and that of Jesus in responding to issues and situations; with Elijah and Elisha, with Isaiah and Jeremiah, with Ezekiel and Daniel, with Job and Jonah... Do you want more signs for the experience of Christmas? Let me leave this to you to continue the remembering filled with gratitude and wonders! They are Pre-figures of Jesus, before His Birth, what about the Post-figures? The Christmas experience continues with Peter and Paul, Augustine and Aquinas, with Francis of Assisi and Francis Xavier, with Don Bosco and Mother Teresa; believe me the same Christmas experience continues with you and me.

 

Hence, shall we just prepare for Christmas celebrations? Or shall we whole heartedly participate in this mystery of incarnation? Is Christmas an event of placing baby Jesus in the crib and exchanging gifts? Or is it an experience of having Jesus with us and becoming gifts for each other in the community? If this move from event to experience is achieved, then ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will’ is our daily song; then, indeed Emmanuel – God is with us would become our true witness.

Let this be my humble wish for Christmas - that we remember God and the People;   that we remember God’s Magnificent plan for us; that we participate and experience in the Joy of giving, giving to the full. Happiness at Christmas is remembering... Thanks you and God Bless.

Cl William David