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Tag: Christmas

  • Christmas Message (Jn 1:1-18)

    Christmas Message (Jn 1:1-18)

    Above all, it’s about Christmas than holidays

    “And the Word became Flesh, and Dwelt amongst us”

    It has always been a great honor and pleasure to be visited by someone special in our lives. Whenever special people pay us a visit in our home, we usually do our best to be a good worthy host to our guests. We normally welcome them into our house, offer them some refreshments, and spent quality time to listen and talk with them. We are not to leave them behind, on their own, while we do our usual affairs.   We are to be and should be with our guests all throughout and until the visit. We must hear what our guest’s agenda and what they have to offer us, while we also have to share what we can offer and contribute, as well as share what we receive from our guests to others within our family & neighbors. Thus, being and becoming a Good Responsible Host to a special Guest.

    Today we celebrate Christmas Day, the Birth of Jesus into our lives.

    The entire Mystery of Incarnation – of God becoming Flesh is considered to be God’s visitation to his people. God, through His son Jesus, visited his people more than two thousand years ago. Through the birth of Jesus into our lives, God has paid us a visit. In Jesus, God has visited us. He became our Special Guest paying us a visit in life. And even after Jesus has returned to the Father, He still continuously “visits” His people now. Jesus “visits” His people through Us, Christians – who became God’s children who recognize, accept and welcome Jesus into our lives. God continues to visit our life and our world today through the ministers of the Church, through the Word of God being proclaimed, and through the sacraments especially the Eucharist that the Church celebrates. Jesus also makes His presence felt every time a community is gathered in His name. He also “visits” us through the ordinary events of our life.

    Sad to say however, as the gospel would tell us, people in Jesus’ time who “did not know and accept Him” failed to recognize not only the time of God’s visitation but above all, to acknowledge God in Jesus. They missed the chance and the grace to be visited and blessed. They were very concerned about their own worldly hopes that their spiritual life was neglected. They interpreted the Bible in their own worldly sense instead of believing in the teachings of Jesus. Even today, there are still people who failed and is failing to acknowledge God’s visit to us through Jesus.

    Even now in America today, there is a debate that they call “War on Christmas”. It is all about other people wanting to call and promote this season as “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” because they basically want to take away Jesus Christ from this holiday. We may notice these through Slogans in the media and advertisements around these days. More being said and promoted about “Happy Holidays” than “Merry Christmas” because they want to get rid of the Jesus story in the celebration. Even in Japan now, there is a display window in a shopping mall that sells cloths on display with a design background of Santa Claus crucified on a cross hoping to attract Christian shoppers for the holiday season.  

    But what is Christmas without Jesus Christ? Is there a Christmas without Jesus? Well, this season can be a holiday without Christ, but will it still be Christmas? … Not at all. Christmas without Christ will be just like a meaningless party celebration without the celebrant and guests.  A holiday celebration and party without any meaning, except just to party. Yet still, there are people who do not welcome Jesus and reject Him because they fail and are failing to recognize and accept in Him the God visiting his people. And worse, Jesus is considered just a decoration, an added background display to their lavish & selfish lifestyles for the holidays.

    Like the Jews during Jesus’ times, many times we may also fail to recognize Him. We fail to welcome Him and let Him enter into our life today. With our worldly concerns and affairs, we may have left the Lord behind on His own, neglected, and abandoned. He could have something more and better to offer us now with His visits, but we rather do our own thing and don’t mind Him at all. Thus, we sometimes missed and may have missed & wasted a lot of blessings and graces which we could have received from God.

    Remember then that above all, these days are all about Christmas than holidays.

    As we celebrate Christmas season, may we put Jesus Christ first in our lives and concerns especially during these pandemic times, may we now be more conscious of His “visits” to us and being with us, and may we be a Good worthy Host to our Special Visitor by recognizing Him, welcoming Him and letting Him stay in our life to protect & intervene for us. Amen. A Merry Blessed Christmas to Us All.

  • CHRISTMAS 2020: God finds a way

    CHRISTMAS 2020: God finds a way

    DECEMBER 25, 2020 (Nativity of the Lord, Mass during the Night) – Liturgical PublicationDownload

    Homily

    On December 20, a policeman shot dead in broad-daylight a mother and her son. The mother was shot twice. The first was shot while she was embracing her to keep him from the policeman. The second was made when she already fell on the ground.

    It was merciless. It was not just heartbreaking, but it was evil. The police officer without any emotion of fear and doubts, shot them dead in the presence of her daughter and of people.

    This is an image of our world in darkness. Indeed, the world is not just darkened by the recent natural calamities, of typhoons and floods that affected millions of our brothers and sisters. The world is not just darkened by this long and tiring health and economic restrictions brought by our fear of covid-19 pandemic.

    Our world and the hearts of others are also gloomed by anger, by hatred, by violence, by indifference, by evil. The world is also gloomed by the desire to have power, to gain control and manipulations, to be above others. the world is also gloomed by our dishonest and selfish leaders, by our unjust practices, by our hate speech, by our fanaticism, by our support of the corrupt, by our blind obedience of the violent.

    Yet, this is the very world and the very hearts as well that God chose and continues to choose again to be born.


    The world may be darkened by our tragic experiences this year and gloomed by our individual and collective sins; the world may be darkened by our painful and sorrowful experiences and gloomed by indifference and violence perpetrated by many of us, directly and indirectly, God still choose to bring the light, to give us the grace and to grant us his salvation.

    Tonight, this is what God wants to remind us. In the first reading the prophet proclaims the coming of the light because those of walked in darkness will see a great light and those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light will shine. Paul in his letter to Titus tells us, “God reveals his grace of salvation to all peoples.” God’s promise is fulfilled because God is granting us his salvation.

    And in the prophecy of Isaiah, God will cast away the darkness and land of gloom. But what is this darkness and land of gloom?

    It is our sin and guilt. It is our pain and sorrow. It is our difficult and overwhelming situation whatever they may be. Just look around. Darkness is around us. We may not be aware of it because we have become so used to it. However, God has come to us to bring light and salvation. Indeed, light is hope. It is God’s forgiveness. It is mercy. It is freedom. It is the fullness of life.

    God, indeed, will destroy the yoke on our shoulders that burdened us. This is the yoke of slavery from sin and evil. God destroys them not by violence but through the gentleness of God’s own yoke of friendship, of companionship. Remember, Jesus has offered us to take his yoke.

    God will also smash the rod of the taskmaster. This is the rod of our selfish desires. These shall be smashed by the Lord not through anger and hatred but through God’s gift of peace and mercy.

    Isaiah tells us that a child is born to us, a son is given us. He is Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. The birth of this child tells us the situation of the world and of our hearts.

    The child was born at midnight and it was dark. He was laid in a manger because there was NO ROOM in the inn. No one offered them a comfortable and respectable place where Mary could deliver her baby. Joseph could not even find a regular bed but found a manger. No one offered a place for the baby to rest.

    And do we think that this was such a happy situation to witness? Do we not feel the indifference of the people around them? Do we not feel those cold hearts who did not care that a pregnant woman was about to deliver her first baby? Do we not feel these at all? Something must be wrong with us!

    Those cold hearts and indifferent people who did not care at all, they remained in darkness and did not recognize that God was among them, that God was there. Their hearts must be so dark that even though it was God who has come near to them, yet, they could not offer him a room. This is an expression of the unwelcoming attitude of the darkness in us.

    However, despite this rejection and indifference, God finds a way to let us know that He is with us. This light found its way in a “manger.” God was born and was laid in a manger – poor, humble and unadorned. Light, certainly, finds a way to illumine the world and our hearts. God, indeed, finds a way to give Himself to an unwelcoming world and unwelcoming heart.

    And to whom did he proclaim his birth? TO THE SHEPHERDS! To the stateless, insignificant, nameless, unimportant, abandoned, unrecognized and poor shepherds of Bethlehem.

    They were the first ones to receive the gift of light, the humble and the underprivileged. This is God’s statement that God is for the abandoned and for the forgotten, whose life have been darkened by those who were indifferent.

    Though, Jesus was born about two thousand years ago, yet, he is reborn in us when we allow our dark guilt and sin to be accepted, confronted and forgiven; when we allow our painful and traumatic experiences become ways for us to discover hope and freedom; when we recognize that we need the Lord and his gift of salvation; when we stop being indifferent and begin to care and to show genuine concern; and when we are able to recognize that we are all brothers and sisters in need of love and mercy.

    Christmas happens every day because God comes to visit us every day. Let his light dispel the darkness in us now. Let his peace dispel our fear now. Let his light cast away our selfishness and evil desires now. Let his peace cast away our anger and hatred now. Hinaut pa.