A MESSAGE THAT RENEWS HOPE
Christmas is coming to quicken our faith in the awesome reality
that God became one of us to tell us that He loves us. Christmas is coming to
help us take a fresh look at life and to provide us with an answer when we ask,
"Why? What for? What's it all about?"
Oftentimes,
there are people who feel empty about life. They characterize our Age as
hopeless. They say that if nuclear bombs don't wipe out modern civilization,
then environmental pollution will and, anyway, so what, "Aren't we all
doomed to extinction the second we are born?" Life for them is nothing
more than, as Paul Laurence Dunbar stated:
A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in,
A minute to smile and an hour to weep in,
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble
And never a laugh but the moans come double.
And that is life!
This
Sunday, let us declare that this is not the reality of life. Let us confirm the
Advent message that life does not need to be empty for us - ever! We have come
to acknowledge that we are not abandoned. The Spirit of Advent breaks through
to soothe our frazzled nerves and to restore our confidence in things to come.
Because the Advent message renews hope in God's promise of eternal fulfillment,
it recharges our batteries, rekindles our zest for life and reawakens us to the
reality that the coming of God's Kingdom is already being realized in the here
and now.
As we
listen to the words of this Sunday's Gospel, "Behold, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is
with us'" (Mt 1:23), we are confident that we are not alone! The Kingdom
of God is at hand and we can celebrate Christmas with hope and profound joy.
St. Paul has written, "I am sure of this much, that He Who has begun the
good work in you will carry it through to completion" (Phil 1:6). We are
called to belong to Jesus Christ. We are the beloved of God and we are called
to be holy, all by God's grace and peace!
God,
Who is with us, will finish His work of creation according to His plan. He will
keep His promise to us of eternal fulfillment, sealed in the Blood of Jesus.
God's Will "will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Mt 6:10).
There is nothing we as humans can do, or any evil action such as a nuclear
holocaust or environmental disaster, that will prevent the ultimate realization
of God's plan for our fulfillment in His Kingdom of Love.
I read
this somewhere a long time ago and I want to share it with you. I think it
could be helpful for today's reflection: A man asked God, "What does a
billion dollars mean to You Who are all powerful?" God said, "Hardly
a penny." Then the man asked God, "And what are a hundred thousand
centuries?" God answered, "Hardly a second." "Then, O Lord,
give me a penny!" the man pleaded. "In a second," God replied!
Take
time to stop and listen. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Our lives seem so busy. Do we
take time to stop and ask, "Why?" and "What for?" To
listen! Christmas is almost here. It is time for us to get off our treadmill of
hurry, hurry, hurry; time to break loose from our mindless time traps; time to
take a fresh look at our fast paced way of life and ask "Why? What for?
What's it all about?"
Our
Christian hope is not based on fantasy or wishful thinking. It is based on the
message of Advent, which informs us that there is a work to be done - God's
work. Advent tells us that the coming of God's Kingdom will be fulfilled
according to His plan. Advent reminds us that we have been commissioned by God
to share in the responsibility of carrying that work to completion. In today's
Psalm, we pray, "Such is the race that seeks for Him, that seeks the face
of the God of Jacob" (Ps 24:6). Have no fear! God is with us! Christmas is
coming!
Christmas
is coming to put our trembling to rest under a new wave of hope in the promises
of God! Christmas is coming to banish our fear that our values are without
meaning and purpose. Christmas is coming to transform the fearsome image of
self as "a speck of dust" or "a drop in the ocean" to that
of a "Child of God" - a uniquely beautiful Child of God. Christmas is
coming to quicken our faith in the awesome reality that God became one of us to
tell us that He loves us. Christmas is coming to help us take a fresh look at
life and to provide us with an answer when we ask, "Why? What for? What's
it all about?" Christmas is coming to remind us all that to discover the
meaning and purpose of our life we must love one another as Jesus has loved us!