18-Dec-2011
Dear Friend,
We know from experience that we are most relaxed and comfortable when we feel
at home with people, situations and events. Christmas is a 'homely' feast, God
being at home with us. The name given to him is Emmanuel -God-with-us! Are we
'at home' with God? To be at home with us, God comes to us not in power and
glory but in the guise of a frail little child. We can only meet God and enjoy
his presence if we approach him as little children - trusting and believing,
looking beyond and finding Him! Have a wonderful Christmas being at home with
the God of small things and small people! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: Christmas Midnight Mass-"Looking beyond and finding Him!"
25-Dec-2011
Isaiah 9: 2-4, 6-7 Titus 2: 11-14
Luke 2: 1-16
Today's first reading from Isaiah reminds us that Christmas is a feast of
light. No matter how dark it is, the darkness cannot shut off the light. "The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a
land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone." The way God scatters the
darkness is by letting 'a child be born for us, a son is given to us.' God
reveals himself as the light not through power but through a small frail weak
child. Night time is usually a time of terror, a time of fear, a time of evil,
but this night is different. It is 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 story with the birth of his son Jesus Christ.
The Light of Hope
The Christmas image of Jesus is that of a light shining in the darkness. This
image took on a remarkable meaning for Viktor Frankl, a Nazi prisoner in World
War II. One morning, very early, he and some other prisoners were digging in
the cold, hard ground. Frankl writes in Man's Search for Meaning: "The dawn was
gray around us; gray was the sky above; gray the snow in the pale light of
dawn; gray the rags in which my fellow prisoners were clad, and gray their
faces. I was struggling to find a reason for my sufferings, my slow dying." As
Frankl struggled in the miserable cold to make sense of his suffering, suddenly
he became totally convinced that there was a reason, even though he didn't
fully comprehend it. Frankl describes what happened then: "At that moment a
light was lit in a distant farmhouse, which stood on the horizon as if it were
painted there, in the mist of the miserable gray." At that moment, there
flashed into Frankl's mind the words of
today's gospel: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never
put it out." Frankl says that experience radically changed his entire prison
life. It gave him hope, where before he had only despair.
Mark Link in 'Sunday Homilies'
In today's gospel Luke begins the most sublime story of God's entry into the
world 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 not the high and mighty but 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 cannot let our faith rest on someone else's life. We
have to believe and journey in faith to discover God. Today's message of the
birth of Jesus brings about a reversal of the value system of the world. The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. God does not come in
power and strength but in humility and weakness as a helpless child. God who
created this world does not find a home in it. 'He came unto his own and his
own received him not'. 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.
Finding Christmas
This is the essence of the Christmas message and experience. The almighty God
who keeps all creation in the palm of his hand, steps beyond that role and out
of love, sends his only Son to share our human life. He does it so that we will
experience energizing and reassuring love in the fiber of our beings. Stepping
out beyond the expected, love was made real for the whole human race at the
first Christmas. So it can be at every Christmas. Each time any one of us
surprises ourselves by extravagant generosity, heroic service or
uncharacteristic forgiveness, we step out of our conventional role and create
oases of love in our desert world. In doing so, we cannot imitate a God who, in
sharing his own divine life, kept nothing for himself exclusively. To live like
him is to risk letting in the stranger, welcoming the poor, trusting in God for
tomorrow, keeping nothing for oneself or one's family exclusively. It is a
challenge that does not bear thinking about.
It could be so frightening and so demanding. But the birth of Jesus reassures
us that God is with us now and always. His presence within and among us enables
us to step beyond our limited selves again and again and so bring true love to
everyone whose lives we touch this Christmas. May the peace of Christ reign in
our hearts and in our homes at Christmas and always.
Tom Clancy in 'Living the Word'
Do we know the meaning of the Christmas Story?
Somewhere in the north of Holland there is a church where all those who entered
used to bow in the direction of a whitewashed part of the church wall before
settling in the pews. Nobody knew why. They had been doing this from generation
to generation, and no question was ever asked. Then one day the parish council
decided to clean the walls. While doing this they discovered some traces of a
painting under the whitewash on the wall. Very carefully they started to peel
off the chalk and they uncovered a centuries-old painting of Jesus on the
cross. Nobody remembered that picture. There was no description of it to be
found: the painting had been lost from human memory. It must have been painted
over centuries ago. But the sign of respect had remained. Now they finally knew
why they were bowing their heads before sitting down. The sign had been there
but its meaning was forgotten. Nobody knew the story of the origin of the sign,
nobody could tell its tale.
-Do we know the meaning of the Christmas story? Do we understand the signs and
symbols of Christmas or is it an empty celebration?
Joseph Donders in 'Praying and Preaching the Sunday Gospel'
Nancy's Christmas Dinner
We were the only family with children in the restaurant that Christmas day. I
sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking.
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 rag of a coat; dirty,
greasy and worn. His pants were baggy, his shirt dirty, his hair uncombed and
unwashed, His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. "Hi there, baby; hi
there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik. Erik continued to
laugh and answer. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the
room, "Do ya know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? "My husband and I were
embarrassed. We ate in silence; 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, love and submission
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, pain and hard
labor - gently, so 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. 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 holding Erik so tightly, 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
The message of Christmas
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 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 if
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 into 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 strange and terrifying creature. If only there was
some way I could get them to trust me.' Just at that moment the church bells
began to ring. He stood silently as they rang out 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, now I understand why you had to become one
of us.'
Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies'
We may discover in the small things of life our great big wonderful God coming
to us!
Fr. Jude Botelho
judebote...@yahoo.co.in
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.
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