Christmas 2020
Little did I think that when 2020 began that I would be writing this reflection with the covid19 pandemic continuing. We remember in a particular way all those who are affected by the pandemic. Many people have lost loved ones as a result of Covid and we pray for them. We also pray for all the healthcare professionals who have been in the frontline .
For the last four weeks of advent we have been looking forward to the coming of Christ into our world with all its ups and downs. We have completed our advent spiritual preparation So now then let us rejoice in the Lord.
At this time when we celebrate the birth of “a saviour who has been born for” us, who is “a great light” in the darkness of the world around us, we welcome an opportunity to put aside our cares and worries as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. None of us will travel to Bethlehem to behold the new-born infant lying in the manger in the way the shepherds and the wise men did in their time. But all of us travel the road of daily life, and we are called to see Jesus the new-born Infant in all the people we come across especially those who need a helping hand especially during the COVID pandemic. We remember in a special way all those who have died especially those who lost their lives as a result of COVID19 and we keep their families in our prayers.
The customs of this season are veiled announcements of one message: Christ is born for us. To remove the veil, to hear the good news, we gather together in our churches. There the message of Christmas speaks loud and clear. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “In times past, God spoke in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he speaks to us through his Son.” The customs of Christmas speak the message in partial ways, but God speaks the message clearly through his Son, who has come into our midst. At Christmas the whole community of heaven joins with all believers on earth in a jubilant song of praise for the good news proclaimed by the angels: Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people,for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). Christmas is the annual renewal of being filled with wonder at the nearness of God. The nearer we are to our God, the nearer we come to those lowly ones who are God’s special ones. We are challenged at Christmas to do what Jesus and the angels did: bring the good news to the outcast and the lowly. The “tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people,” and no one is to be left out. Christmas is a great celebration of our faith in Jesus. We gather to celebrate light in the midst of darkness; we celebrate the new hope that Jesus has generated in people down the centuries. He is our light; he is our hope. When we want to know God, it is to Jesus that we turn; when we want to worship God, it is through Jesus that we sing our praises.
We too give glory to God in the highest for revealing himself to the lowly: So with Mary and Joseph with the shepherds the Angels and Arch Angels and the whole company of heaven let us adore the Christ Child the child in the manger who is the reason for the Season that we celebrate at Christmas.
Fullerton T 