22-Dec-2012
Dear Friend, Our own experience shows us that we are most relaxed and at ease when we are at home with people, situations and events. On the other hand we are tense, ill at ease and out of place when we are over powered by people, situations and events. At Christmas we are reminded that our God comes to be at home with us, He comes in the form of a weak, vulnerable child so that we are not overpowered but attracted to Him. Is there room for the infant in our hearts? Have a Christ-filled Christmas! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Christmas: "Rejoice, for a child is born for us, a child given to us!" 25-Dec-2012 Readings: Isaiah 9: 1-7Titus 2: 11-14Luke 2: 1-14 Today's reading from Isaiah's stunning and poetic passage comes from a moment when the Israelites were returning from captivity. Thrilled that they were going home, they were also fearful and worried about rebuilding their lives. Then come these reassuring words of the prophet "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, you have made their joy increase; 'for unto us a child is born, a son given to us!" These words are the promise of Isaiah, the promise of Jesus. None of us has to live in the dark, so utterly confused and so paralyzed by fear. We have our Saviour near us, Christ the Lord! Eternal Life becomes visible Cyril Egan wrote a poem called 'A Kind of Prayer." It's about a person who's looking for something. Everywhere he goes, he searches, searches, searches. One day someone asks him what he's searching for. He responds, "I'm looking for God." Then he adds quickly: "Don't tell me I'll find him in my heart (Though in a sense that's true); and don't tell me I'll find him in my fellow man (Though in a sense that's true, too). What I'm looking for is a God making a five-sense break-through to humanity." In other words, he's looking for a God that he can see and touch. That's the kind of God John speaks about- Word made flesh! Mark Link in 'Daily Homilies' In the gospel we are told that "in the town of David a Saviour has been born for you; He is Christ the Lord." Who is this Babe? He is God's messenger coming with wonderful news: God loves us. This Babe is not only God's messenger; he is also God's message. The Gospel describes in simple terms the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and how the shepherds responded to the news given to them by the angels about the birth of Jesus in the manger. This gospel contains elements of high contrast and uses signs to announce the beginning of a new era with the birth of Jesus Christ. By mentioning Caesar Augustus, Luke contrasts the mighty Roman Empire with the kingdom of God. Caesar Augustus, seen as the inaugurator of peace and the great world benefactor, is contrasted with a helpless new-born who will be the Prince of peace and the Savior of the world. For this savior of the world there is no place in the world. Mary and Joseph are refugees, who only find room for their son in a stable where animals live. By mentioning the manger, Luke wishes to symbolize that Jesus is born to be the sustenance of the world. The swaddling clothes connote the protection and care that the helpless infant needed and also his solidarity with the poor and simple people of his day. The manner of his birth did not meet the expectations of those who awaited him. He did not come to live up to their expectations but in fulfillment of his Father's will. His arrival was not sensational and not heralded with much fanfare to the influential, but only announced to the simple shepherds. Shepherds were considered lowly, were despised by the authorities and shunned by the ordinary people. Shepherds were considered destitute and lived on the outskirts of the towns. By these contrasting signs and events the gospel highlights how different God's ways are from men and how, while Jesus was born as one of us, yet his coming turned the values of the world upside down. To come to the stable, to experience his coming, are we ready to accept him on his terms and values? Emmanuel's Discovery Once upon a time there was an African boy named Emmanuel. He was always asking questions. One day he asked his teacher, "What languages does God speak?" His teacher scratched his head and said, "I really don't know." So Emmanuel asked the learned people of his village, but they didn't know either. Now he became really curious. He travelled around his country and asked the learned people of other villages, "What language does God speak?" but they merely shook their heads. Emmanuel was convinced that someone knew. So he began to travel to other countries. He even travelled to other continents. But the answer was always the same. One night, exhausted by his travels, Emmanuel came to a village called Bethlehem. He tried to a get a room in one of the inns, but the rooms were all filled up. So he decided to look for a cave outside town. In the early hours of the morning, he finally found one. When he stepped inside the cave, however, he saw it was occupied by a couple and a child. When the young mother saw him, she said, "Welcome, Emmanuel, we've been expecting you." The boy was stunned. How did the woman know his name? He was even more amazed when she said: "For a long time you have been searching the world over to discover what language God speaks. Now your journey is over. Tonight you see with your own eyes what language God speaks. He speaks the language of love. Mark Link in 'Sunday Homilies' The stable was empty when she came… "A Legend from Russia" is a poem by Phyllis McGinley about Christmas. The poem begins as the old grandmother, Babushka, is about to retire for the evening: When out of the winter's rush and roar, came shepherds knocking upon her door. They tell her of a royal child a virgin just bore and beg the grandmother to come and adore. Babushka is good-hearted, but she likes her comfort, and so her reaction is to go later. "Tomorrow," she mutters. "Wait until then." But the shepherds come back and knock again. This time they beg for only a blanket: With comforting gifts, meat or bread, and we will carry it in your stead. Again Babushka answers, "Tomorrow." And when tomorrow comes, she's as good as her word. She packs a basket of food and gifts: A shawl for the lady, soft as June, For the Child in the crib a silver spoon, Rattles and toys and an ivory game but the stable was empty when she came. Albert Cylwicki in 'His Word Resounds' The First Crib Once there was a parish which had a beautiful crib. The parishioners, who for the most part were white and well-off, were very proud of it. Mary was depicted as a handsome young maiden with snow-white hands. Joseph was a strong man with a serene expression on his face. The smiling child had the face of an angel. The shepherds were dressed in the garb of gentlemen. All the figures of course were white. The background consisted of low hills with a gorgeous castle perched on the summit of one of them. The star-strewn sky completed the idyllic picture. Then a new parish priest was appointed to the parish. One of the first things he did was to change the crib. Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus were now coloured, as were the shepherds. The backdrop consisted of a shanty town with row after row of impoverished shacks. The whole scene spoke of poverty and marginalization. The devout parishioners took an instant dislike to it. They insisted that their traditional crib be put back. When we look at the crib, everything seems so pretty, so peaceful so orderly. Not a cry is heard from the child, not a sound from the donkey or the oxen, not a smell of any kind. The straw is clean. The coloured but subdued lights add a surreal quality to the whole scene. With our inward ear we hear the singing of the angels, and with our inward eye we see the star which led the Magi to Bethlehem. We have a tendency to pretty up the Christmas story, but in doing that we remove it from us. We empty it of much of the meaning it carries for us. It was St. Francis of Assisi who assembled the first crib in a cave on an Italian hillside in the year 1223. His aim was to make the Christmas story come alive for the people of the locality. His idea was to show them how close it was to them and their lives. And it seems that he succeeded. On Christmas Eve the friars and the people assembled with candles and torches around the crib. Francis spoke to the people, who were mostly farmers and shepherds, about God's Son coming among us to teach us that we too are children of God, and that as such we have an eternal destiny. The shepherds and farmers got the messages: God had time for simple folks like them. At the end of the vigil they all returned to their homes, full of peace and joy, feeling very close to God and to one another. Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies' He came that we might live! During World War II, a British fighter jet was flying over a little German village, when it was shot down. Instantaneously the two young pilots descended successfully with their parachutes in an open field. A crowd of people rushed at them with their pitchforks and shovels determined to beat them to death. Fortunately, German soldiers arrived and intervened in the nick of time, rescuing the two terrified pilots and leading them to the town centre as prisoners of war. The crowd kept demanding their death as the British were their enemies. Any moment that furious crowd could break through the cordon of soldiers and kill the prisoners in a merciless vendetta. Even as the mob bayed for the blood of the trembling pilots, an eleven year old boy named Reimund dared to step between the captives and the screaming people and with all his heart he pleaded, "Please listen to me. These prisoners are so very young, as young as your own sons who are in the war too. They are only doing their duty, even as your own sons are doing their duty in the defence of our country. If your sons were shot down in a foreign country, surely you would not like to know that they were tortured and killed by an angry mob. So please don't hurt these young men!" The people listened in silence, absolutely dumbstruck and ashamed. One by one they lowered their pitchforks and shovels and began to retreat. Said one woman with deep shame: "It took a little boy to tell us what is right and what is wrong." Because of that little boy the lives of those young pilots were saved. Two thousand years ago, God entered our world and our history as a tiny, helpless and seemingly insignificant little child. This Jesus said "I have come so that you may have life and in abundance. I have come so that my own joy might be in you and your joy complete. Like the brave little German boy Reimund, He was prepared to stake his life for our salvation. At Christmas we remember the infant who came to save us and praise and thank our God for this greatest gift of Jesus Christ, our Saviour! J. Valladares in 'Your Words, O Lord are Spirit, and they are Life' He came to give His life to us. What have we to offer Him? 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 web site www.netforlife.net Thank you.
