########################################################################## # Goanetters-2004 meet in Goa. Dec 21, Tuesday. 12 noon to 2 pm. # # Clube Vasco, Near Municipal Garden, Panjim. Pass the word around! # ##########################################################################
20-12-04 Dear Friend, Christmas means different things to different people. For some it is gifts and toys, for others it is visits from near and dear ones, for others it is a season of holidays, for still others it is a flurry of shopping and hectic partying. Is Christmas anything different for us? Is it just making a crib, singing carols and going to Church? Do we expect Jesus to really come into our lives? May His word evoke great joy in receiving the gift of Jesus! Have a blessed Christmas! -Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Christmas Day The word was made flesh and lived among us 25-12-04 Readings: Isaiah 9: 1-7; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14: The prophet speaks in today's first reading of a great reversal, a great change that is about to take place especially for the people of Israel. Because of the situation they found themselves in, they had been hopeless, living in despair, living in darkness. Now the night was about to end. "The people that walked in darkness had seen a great light; on those who live in a land of shadow a light has shone." The coming of the Messiah would change everything. Instead of despair there would be hope, where there was sadness there would be joy, and where there was war there would be peace. All this would happen because 'a child is born for us and a son given to us'. They gave him wonderful names: 'Wonder counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of peace'. As the sunrise heralds a new dawn, the Son of God promises a new beginning in our life, if only we let him be our God, Emmanuel. December 25th For most primitive peoples throughout history, the sun was the supreme God, surveying the world, giving it light and warmth. And in winter, these primitive people would light fires in the hope that that would strengthen the failing power of the sun. By the third century the sun-god was proclaimed the principal patron of the Roman Empire, and December 25th was celebrated as the birthday of the invincible sun. The feast of Christmas originated when the cult of the sun was particularly strong in Rome. The pagan festival was baptized by the Church in Rome, which used the same date to celebrate the birth of Christ. We do not know the date of Jesus' birth, but we do know why December 25th was chosen as the date to celebrate the birth. For us the Yule logs and candles symbolize the warmth and light of another sun: the Son of God. In the darkness of this night we celebrate the birth of the light of the world. Without Jesus we would be stumbling in the dark. He is the only light that the darkness cannot overpower. - Denis McBride In the second reading from the letter of Titus, we are reminded that with Jesus' birth a new way was opened for us to share in the life of God, because God came into the world to be with us and be part of mankind. God's coming was grace, a gift, and a blessing freely bestowed on us. To make that grace real, we have to accept the gift, and let it transform us and influence us so that we become more and more like Jesus Christ. Today's gospel situated the birth of Christ in history, during the reign of the mighty Emperor Caesar Augustus, who claimed for himself the title 'saviour' and said he was the one who brought peace to the whole world. Yet, during his time the real saviour arrived, a new-born child, whom the angels proclaimed as the one who would bring peace to all men of good will. The reading is full of contrasts between the human and the divine, between war and peace, between the mighty and the vulnerable, between darkness and light. Christmas reminds us of how very different God's ways are from human ways. While the mighty emperor ruled with power and issued dictates to be followed by all, Mary and Joseph had no power, they were refugees, following orders and homeless when they needed a home most. There were none of the trappings of luxury that surround royalty. "She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn." Only those with faith recognized his coming and believed in him. Mary and Joseph see in this frail helpless child, the Son of God, and the simple shepherds, when told of the birth of the new born king, left their flocks, and journeyed to the manger and acknowledged him. All those who believe will find this child, who will bring peace to their hearts and to their world. It is difficult to see God in the simple ordinary happenings of daily life. Yet there are signs given to us. Not extraordinary signs but simple ones, which only the eyes of faith can recognize and understand. For the shepherds the sign was a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. The sign is difficult to fathom and understand: God, a child, God, frail and weak, God, one like us? Only when we are touched by love can we recognize God in our midst. Christmas is a feast of the heart.. Love at close quarters There is a story about a good and upright man who had a problem with the incarnation. He couldn't believe that God's son became one of us, and was too honest to pretend. So on Christmas Eve, when his wife and children went to church, he stayed at home. Shortly after his family left, it began to snow. He went to the window to watch it fall. "If we must have Christmas," he thought, "then let it be a White Christmas." A short while later he heard a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another. It sounded as though someone was throwing snowballs at the window of the living room. He went to the front door to investigate. There he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm and in their desperate search for shelter, had seen the light and flew into the window. "I can't let these little creatures lie there and freeze to death," he thought. "But how can I help them?" Then he remembered the barn. It would provide a nice warm shelter for them. He put on his coat and made his way through the snow to the barn. There he put on the light, but the birds wouldn't come. "Food will bring them," he thought. So he scattered a trail of bread crumbs all the way to the barn. But the birds still wouldn't come. Then he tried to shoo them into the barn by walking around them and waving his arms at them. But they took alarm and scattered in all directions. Then he said to himself, "They find me a stranger and a terrifying creature. If there was only some way I could get them to trust me." Just then at that moment the church bells began to ring. He stood silently as they rang the glad tidings of Christmas. "The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" Then he sank to his knees in the snow and said, "Lord I now understand why you became one of us." -In Jesus, God drew near to us in person. He became one of us. He lived among us. Jesus is the gift of Christmas. This was no 'loving from a distance'. This was love at close quarters. -Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Days Liturgies Come Lord Jesus, come fill my world, come fill my life! ---------------------- Dear friends, I pray that you might all have a blessed Christmas season! I want to thank you for spreading and supporting this ministry with your prayers and good wishes. I would also like to acknowledge those of you who have sent their greetings and good wishes, which I am not able to acknowledge individually. I will be in Bombay for some time and will continue to send you these reflections from there. Have a joyous Christmas season and may His abundant blessings and His peace be yours at Christmas and always! Fr. Jude Botelho [EMAIL PROTECTED] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my website: www.netforlife.net Thank you!
