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Christmas 2019Today, with great joy and solemnity we celebrate Christmas - the feast of God's magnanimous and unconditional love, the feast of God's Self-gift to mankind. For Christmas is 'God's gift laid in human hands.' The Christmas event, i.e. the birth of our Lord Jesus in a stable in the small village of Bethlehem of Judea is one of the most important events in the history of mankind, an event when God takes the human form in the person of Jesus and comes into the world to save mankind from sin and death. Christmas is the celebration of the ultimate gift God has ever given to the mankind. When we speak about the Christmas gifts, we may think that this custom of exchanging and giving gifts started only recently as the outcome of the big commercialization of the Christmas. But we are wrong. The first Christmas present was given away over 2000 years ago when somebody packed the most precious gift and forwarded it to some ones whom he loved. Who was that one who sent the first Christmas gift? It was God the Father who gave us the first Christmas gift. He didn’t have to go to Wal-Mart or any other malls shopping for Chinese goods; rather he packed his only Son, the most precious treasure and sent him to us as Christmas gift. I don’t think for all these centuries anyone ever gave a gift so precious as that and no one will ever give away such expensive gift to anyone. Why did God take such drastic step? We get the answer from the gospel of John 3:16&18 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”God the father took a drastic step to make this love possible. He sent his only begotten Son knowing that he is going to be rejected; he is going to be abandoned and he is going to be crucified. St. Paul well describes this in Philippians 2:5. “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”Theologically presented, the second person of the Blessed Trinity becomes incarnate.?We pray in the Creed: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”In all ways we can say Jesus is a perfect gift for us from God the Father. But Jesus the perfect gift will not force himself into our life, it is up to you and me to be open and receive Jesus. There was no room for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the inn at the first Christmas (Luke 2:6). It’s important for us to make room in the inn of our heart for Jesus this Christmas and every day. We need to open our minds and our hearts, and allow our Savior Jesus Christ to possess our entire being.?Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience."Whatever language we may speak as we contemplate the Christ child lying in the manger of Bethlehem, God speaks only one language and that language is the language of love. The Eucharist is the greatest celebration where we experience this love in its fullness. The name Bethlehem is coming from two Syriac words; beth(house) and Lehma(bread). Bethlehem means house of bread. The one who is born in the House of bread, later taking bread and wine transforms it into his body and blood; thus is the mystery of his Incarnation continued for us in the mystery of the Eucharist, God made real for us. God becomes man. Bread and wine becomes God-man.Each time we come to the Eucharist, we come to a new Bethlehem.? He, who rested once in a manger, now rests in our entire being, as we receive him in the mystery of the Mass. Let us make our hearts worthy dwelling places for Jesus who is coming to our life on this Christmas eve/day and on each time when we receive the Holy Communion. Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.Fr. Binu Joseph ................
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