14-Dec-2014 Dear Friend, Christmas is here and we are called to celebrate. Have we prepared ourselves for His coming? Whether we are ready or not, He is ready and willing to come to us if only we let him into our hearts. He is in our midst; His name is Emmanuel, God with us! May his word open our eyes, May his Spirit open our hearts! Have a holy and happy Christmas! -Fr. Jude Sunday Refl. Christmas Day: “Rejoice! Unto us a child is given! The Prince of Peace” 25-Dec-2014Isaiah 9: 2-4, 6-7; Titus 2: 11-14; Lk. 2: 1-14;
Today’s first reading from Isaiah reminds us that Christmas is a feast of light. No doubt it is we who have caused the darkness in our lives, our sins, our indifference and lack of love towards our brothers and sisters have cast a shadow on our lives. The way God scatters the darkness is by letting ‘a child be born for us, a son given to us.’ God reveals himself not through power but through a small frail weak child. Night time is usually a time of fear and evil, but this night is different. It is a Silent night, a Holy night, a night made divine by the presence of God in our midst. May this night be filled with the light of love given and love received, reflecting in our own lives the love of God, who entered our history with the birth of his son Jesus Christ. Nancy’s Christmas DinnerWe were the only family with children in the restaurant that Christmas day. I sat Erik in a high chair and suddenly Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi there." I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with a tattered coat, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy, his shirt dirty, his hair uncombed. "Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy," the man said to Erik. Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hi, hi there." Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya know patty cake? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo." My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik. We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to side-step him. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's pick-me-up position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's. Erik in an act of total trust, laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, gently cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby." He pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain and said, "God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift." With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying, and why I was saying, "My God, my God, forgive me." I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not, I felt it was God asking - "Are you willing to share your son for a moment?", when He shared His for All Eternity.Unknown In today’s gospel Luke begins the most sublime story of God’s entry into the world by linking it with a human story. The story begins with the names of the greatest figures of that time, Emperor Augustus and Governor Quirinius, side by side with two very simple people Joseph and Mary setting out for an insignificant town in Palestine, Bethlehem, in obedience to the decree requiring them to register in their hometown. Mary and Joseph make themselves available for God’s coming into the world through their act of obedience though it inconveniences them. So often God’s time is not our time and so we miss his coming. The story of Christ’s birth started with the high and mighty but the children of Israel who are invited to come to the manger are simple shepherds who are summoned from their flocks. The shepherds listen and believe and set out to see for themselves the wonderful event that has taken place. Their faith helps them to believe and journey to the manger. Everyone’s life is a journey of faith. We have to believe and journey in faith to discover him. Today’s message of the birth of Jesus brings about a reversal of the value system of the world. The great people mentioned at the beginning in today’s gospel, Caesar Augustus and Quirinius do not know of the birth of Jesus but simple shepherds in the fields hear the good news. God who created this world does not find a home in it. Mary and Joseph have to leave home and find a place in a stable so that God Emmanuel might be at home with us. Jesus becomes one like us so that we might become like God. Emmanuel’s DiscoveryOnce upon a time there was an African boy named Emmanuel. He was always asking questions. One day he asked his teacher, “What language 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’ A Saviour born to usThe Russians have for centuries told a legend about a young medieval prince, Alexis, who lived in a sumptuous palace, while all around, in filthy hovels, lived hundreds of poor peasants. The Prince was moved with compassion and determined to better their lot. So he began to visit them. But as he moved in and out among them he found that they treated him with enormous respect; but he was never able to win their confidences, and he returned to the palace a disappointed man. Then one day a very different man came among the people, a rough and ready young doctor who wanted to devote his life to serving the poor. He started by renting a filthy rat-ridden shack in one of the back streets. His clothes were old and tattered and he lived simply, often without knowing where the next meal was coming from. He made no money from his profession because he treated most people free and gave away his medicines. Before long this young doctor had won the respect and affection of all those people, as Prince Alexis had never succeeded in doing. And little by little he transformed the whole spirit of the place, settling quarrels, and helping people to live decent lives. No one ever guessed that this young doctor was in fact the Prince himself, who had abandoned his palace and become one of them. -That’s just what God did on that first Christmas day. He came down to help us to become the sort of beings he intended us to be.John Williams in ‘More Quotes and Anecdotes’ What can I give him?Living in any city, you are likely to be bombarded with posters of Santa Claus in supermarkets and the blasting of ‘Jingle Bells’ from Christian residences. For a moment, at least, could we substitute the Christ child for Santa and silently reflect on the first Christmas night? -Poetess Christina Rossetti wrote: “What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I’d bring Him a lamb; If I were a wise man, I would do my part; yet what can I give, give Him my heart!” Heart-gifted, we’ll be able to sing ‘a new song to the Lord’ mentioned in the psalm as collaborators of Christ’s cause. Have a hearty Christmas!Francis Gonsalves in ‘Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds’ The gift that is given for usLuke’s invitation, which has been extended to all believers down the centuries, reaches us again tonight: to come and worship, to see for ourselves the fragility of God, the littleness of the mighty one, the sheer tenderness of a love that is offered to all peoples. With the birth of this child a new adventure in faith begins. A new approach to God is opened up for us, a new way of relating to each other is asked of us. Because this child becomes for all of us the Way, the Truth and the Life. That is why we make the journey back to Bethlehem each year: to rediscover our own roots in the gift of Jesus. For us, it is a journey home. As G.K. Chesterton wrote: ‘To an open house in the evening, Home shall men come, To an older place than Eden, And a taller town than Rome. To the end of the way of the wandering star, To the things that cannot be and that are, To the place where God was homeless, And all men are at home.Denis McBride in ‘Seasons of the Word’ The House of the Dead – Christmas dawn in a Siberian campIt was a dingy little settlement among frozen wastelands. From the grim prison at one end of a single muddy street the convicts peered through barred windows at the small cathedral on a hill at the other side of town. The bells rang merrily as that Christmas dawn arrived and the villagers trooped in happy procession to the early church service. It was Christ’s mass, Christmas. “But not for us, who are cut off from all humanity,” the ragged prisoners wept, huddled together for comfort from the cold. Finally, however, when the long cathedral service was ended, a priest came to the prison, set up a crude altar, and began the service of worship. “Now God has come to us!” the convicts shouted in surprised joy. “Oh yes,” replied the priest. “This is where he lives all year long. You see, he goes to the cathedral only on special occasions.”Dostoyevsky in ‘The House of the Dead’ May we discover Emmanuel –God with us - in our hearts, in our homes!! Fr. Jude Botelho botelhoj...@gmail.com 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.
