(Reflection for Christmas Vigil)
This night is indeed, a night of
great joy, peace and light for the God in our midst. The story of the birth of
Jesus, each time we hear or listen to it fills our hearts with profound joy and
gladness, it is ever new and fresh in its impact in the human heart. It’s really
a message of great joy (Lk.2:10). We have come to the end of the season
of Advent and the period of expectation and of patient waiting. This is the
time to celebrate the Messiah in our midst, the feast of Christmas. This is the
most important event in the history of mankind, an event when God became one of
us, when God takes the human form in the person of Jesus Christ. Today,
Jesus wants to be reborn in our lives. Do we have a place for him in our
hearts?
In the
first reading (Is. 9:2-7) prophet
Isaiah announces this day as a day of great light, he started with the consoling words: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have
multiplied the nation, you have increased their joy”. The people of Israel
waited long in suffering and hardship for the coming of the Messiah, they kept
on waiting for a new era. Behold, Isaiah’s message is for them the
fulfilment of God’s promise, in and through the New Born Baby: “For unto us
a son is born, to us a son is given, his name will be wonderful counsellor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace”. His reign will have no end. The
title of Everlasting Father attributed to this New Born Baby delineates His
future and Mission (a child and a Father). This new born king is hailed with
many honorific titles. He was even called “Mighty God”, this bold ascription of
divinity is uncommon in the Old Testament (cf. Ps.45:7), and however,
biblically it points to the sovereignty of Yahweh. This title is indeed to be comprehended
in the sense of Deus pro nobis
(second person of the Trinity) and not in the sense of Deus in se (first person of the Trinity).
This night we heard once again the
gospel narrative of St. Luke (Lk. 2:1-14), he recounts the birth of
our Savior Jesus Christ in a rather detailed and fascinating manner. And
because of the vitality of that
narrative we have listened to it with emotion and passion. Luke places it
against the background of the reign of Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus and he
also mentions a census in Palestine issued by him at the time when Jesus was
born (this serves to tell us that the birth of Jesus is not a fiction or a
fairy tale). They went from Nazareth to Bethlehem, in fulfilment of the prophecy
that the promised heir of David will be born there. It is generally accepted
that Jesus was born in 4 B.C.
What marvels me is not the song of the
angels nor the run of the shepherds, but the situation of the manger, where He
was born. Not only in a den of animals, He was born in a manger (there was not even space to stay where the
animals stay, but they found a place for Him where animals eat): this
symbolizes the sacrificial meal that Jesus becomes, He is a real GIFT. Let us put into consideration a number of
particularities emanating from this Gospel passage:
- We see
Mary and Joseph that went for census and Jesus that is born in a manger,
of all places! Mary and Joseph did not find a place in the Inns, this indeed demonstrates the
insensibility of man. Even till today does he find a home in our homes, in
our hearts, in our society?
- We
capture Mary that wraps Him in a swaddling clothe and the Angel of the
Lord that brings the great proclamation. The Angel announces to the
shepherds: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great
joy…for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is
Christ the Lord”. We see the pastors that ran towards the manger to see
the New Born Baby. Here we see that the news of the birth of Jesus was first
announced to the shepherds (who were considered as sinners).
Interestingly, the angels announced to the pastors of the birth of a Savior
and also indicated to them how to recognize him: “this will be for you a sign: you will see a child wrapped in clothes”.
- And
equally the Angels in the grotto singing: “glory to God in the highest and
peace to men with whom he is pleased”.
Luke’s
narration is fascinating, touching and soul southing. It is neither a legend
nor a fairy tale, without historical foundation. The details, and some
geographical precisions are indications that it is a historical fact, even
though there may be some elements of a popular tradition, the issue is that a real fact has happened. To confirm this, John
in his first letter affirms vigorously: “something which has existed since the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we
have watched and touched with our hands, the Word of life-this is our theme” (1Jn. 1:1), and in verse 4 he says “we are writing this to you so that our joy will be
complete” (v.4). And St. Peter in
the bid to respond to sceptics and
unbelievers writes: “when we told you about the power and the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, we were not slavishly repeating cleverly invented myths; no,
we had seen his majesty with our own eyes” (2Pt.
1:16), here Peter lays credence on the realism of the Incarnation. Again,
with a more concrete and incisive expression St. Paul says: “when the fullness
of time came, God sent his Son born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4).
Let us confront ourselves today with this
question: “why did Jesus choose to be born in that condition? St. Anselm would
ask: “Cur Deus Homo?” (why did God become man?). In the words of St. Augustine
“O man wake up, it was for you that God was made man”. God became man to show
us the intensity and density of God’s love, “For God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son…” (Jn.3:16).
Be that
at it may, Jesus therefore, is not a legend, a myth or a fantasy of human
invention, rather He is a historical personage that was born in Bethlehem. The
Child that was born in Bethlehem is truly the King-Messiah, the Promised
Messiah, the Prince of peace (Is. 9:5b).
For St. Paul “In Him dwells the fullness of divinity” (Col.2:9).
Substantially, what does the birth of Jesus reveal to us:
- It
reveals the dignity of the human person, for if the Son of God became man
to save man, it means that in the
eyes of God the dignity of man has an inestimable value.
- It reveals
that each person is called to a communion of life and of love with God,
for the Son of God assumed the human nature to enrich us of his divinity. In
fact, as St. John rightly puts it “To those who accept Him he gives power
to become children of God” (Jn.
1:12), therefore to share in his divinity.
- The
birth of Jesus equally is an indication that we are in a journey towards a
precise goal. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading: “we are waiting
in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory
of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tt. 2:13).
In the second reading (Titus
2:11-14), St. Paul in his letter to Titus proclaims that the grace of God
has appeared for the salvation of all men. The grace appeared to redeem us
from our iniquity. This tells us the Father’s purpose for sending his Son
(redemption of the world). The child that is born and given to us is our
Redeemer (little wonder he was called child and father by Isaiah). Jesus gave
himself to redeem us. The author of this letter carried the Advent theme
into Christmas, for the reading speaks about the first (v.11) and
the second (v.13) comings of Christ. As a matter of fact, the first
coming is an anticipation of the second coming, little wonder it is celebrated
at midnight, for according to the New Testament imagery, the second coming will
take place at midnight (cf.Mt.25:6).
Above all else, however, it is quite
unfortunate that we are celebrating the birth of the Savior, not in a type of
world described by Isaiah in the first reading, a pacific world, where men live
in harmony and love as brothers, where justice reigns. Instead, our world is
divided by hatred, war, violence and injustice; and in this situation the
dignity of man raised by Christ is thrown to the mud, in our world where human
beings are killing their fellows (cf.
Gn. 4, 1-16: Cain and Abel), where
is the reign of love and of peace that the new born Baby brings? It is only when humanity welcomes this
Child that our joy will be complete (cf. 1Jn. 1:4). As a matter of
fact, he is already here standing and knocking at the door (Rev 3:20). Christmas is an
event of God knocking at our door. If you hear his voice and open he will
also open for you when you knock. Is welcoming Jesus in our hearts (Maka Jisos bata ihe di egwu g’eme). The real message of Xmas is that Jesus is a
GIFT to the world. “You will see a sign: a child wrapped in swaddling
clothes” Lk 2,12. Jesus is the centre of human history, from his birth
the human history was divided into two: Before and After Christ. May we
make him the centre of our life. Christmas isn't only an event
of the past, but more importantly - it is also an event of today
and of each day, and as we solemnly celebrate it today, we joyfully acclaim
“TODAY IS BORN OUR SAVIOR - CHRIST THE LORD”. Christmas is really
an event:
An event of love!
An event of joy!
An event of peace!
An event of God’s presence
(Emmanuel)!
A feast of gift!
Merry Christmas to You all, Brethren
and Friends!!!
(Rev. Fr. Vitus Unegbu)
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