“Christmas is for giving/And for showing that we care,/For honouring the Christ Child/With the loving gifts we share./The wise men gave of riches;/The shepherds, faith and love./Each gift, in its own measure,/Was smiled on from above.”
Parade by Iris W. Bray
We all have been created out of celestial love and goodness. Our eternal happiness lies in treading the divine path of love and selfless service to humanity. Yet, occasionally, being oblivious to our true divine self, we digress to seek happiness in our parochial world — erroneously taking the path of egocentricity and darkness.
The Lord’s infinite love sends the sacred Light to lead us back to Him. God sent Jesus, as our Light of hope and redemption, to save us and lead us back to His eternal infinite love and mercy. That is why Prophet Isaiah wrote in the Bible: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have increased their joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest.”
St Luke also celebrates the emergence of the Light, the birth of Jesus, in his famous lines:
There were shepherds nearby, watching their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them; the glory of the Lord shone around them. The angel said: “Do not be afraid. I bring good news of great joy for all. Today in Bethlehem, a saviour has been born to you; he is the Lord. This is the sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Then suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared, praising God, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to men of goodwill.”
It is believed that the angels sang of peace to all people of goodwill. People of goodwill are those who intend to consecrate themselves for the good and service of others, in tune with the divine will. The sacred light of Jesus, the Saviour, inspires us to devote ourselves to the caring service of others, especially the adversaries, the marginalised, the forsaken and those sadly cast into oblivion.
The outcome of such dedicated service is extended in inner peace: “He shall be called comforter; he shall be called peace.” In this season of Christmas, we are called upon to be divine messengers of peace, to extend love and comfort others. Keeping this in mind, the Pope in one Christmas message had reiterated: “O Jesus, born for our sake, teach us to walk beside you on the paths of peace. Yes, we need to walk beside Jesus and sincerely work for peace wherever we are.”
Hope is the other strong message of Christmas. The advent of Christ in the manger, reminds us of the immortal lines of Rabindranath Tagore’s song: “Oi Mahamanabo Ase… Here comes the Great, the Magnanimous, there is a great expectation and joy all around. Conch-sound resonates the heaven, drumbeats on the earth. Here is the moment of the Great Birth! Darkness is defeated. The air echoes, fear not. Sky is filled with exuberance of joy. Great moment of great birth is resounding everywhere.”
Elsewhere Tagore writes: “He comes, comes, ever comes”.
The Saviour comes as the light of hope, love and redemption for the marginalised, the downtrodden and the deprived. In this season of Yuletide, let us all welcome Jesus and His message of love, charity and altruism in our lives.
May the Lord bless us all, especially those who are less privileged, marginalised and deprived. Let us all be messengers of peace, love and service — consecrating ourselves to ameliorate the sufferings of the world.
Let us all find peace in bringing happiness to others. In kindling the message of joy and hope in the lives of those who have digressed from the path of light and knowledge.
To conclude in the words of Cecil Day Lewis’s poem: “The Christmas Rose”, let the light of hope and love dawn in all of us: “Hushed your earth, full-starred your sky/For a new nativity:/Be born in us, relieve our plight,/Christmas child, you rose of light!”
Wish you all a very happy, joyous and hope-filled Christmas!
Rev. Fr Dr Dominic Savio S.J. is the principal of St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) Kolkata