What does Christmas mean for you?
Dr.
Fr. Davis George
Pope Francis asked, “What does Christmas mean for you?” He said, “For me Christmas is hope and
tenderness...” Christmas is celebration
of hope and tenderness. Hope, because we
have a Saviour who has come not to condemn the world but to save the world.
Hope, because Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. “The word became flesh and dwelt
among us.” (Jn 1:14)Hope, because he has told us that he will be with us to the
end of days. Tenderness, because he emptied himself and became a tender child.
Tenderness, because he showed compassion and love to the most neglected people;
welcomed sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes into his kingdom. He was sensitive to human needs; reached out,
touched and healed the broken world. Christmas is God seeking man more than man
seeking God. We read in the Bible God seeking Adam and Eve, even after
disobeying him; God asked, “Where are you?” (Gen 3:9) Christmas has always been
about this; contemplating the visit of God to his people. God has visited his
people and redeemed.(Lk 1:60)
Who
is the richest person you have ever known?
The Average Rich fly first class. The Medium Rich charter a jet. The
Super Rich own the jet. The Incredibly Rich own the airline. But Jesus Christ owns the skies. The Bible
says, “He was rich.” It is speaking of what he had before he left heaven to
come to earth. (Phil 2:1-11) The Bible says that all the glory of God radiates
from him (Heb 1:3). It also says that all things hold together in him (Col 1:17).
It also says that by him were all things created (Col 1:16). And before he was
born, he was the Mighty God and the Father of Eternity (Is 9:6).
He became poor. Not,
He was made poor. That’s what happens to us. We are made poor by circumstances.
But he himself, of his own free will, became poor. That’s something we would
never do. He voluntarily gave up the riches of heaven for the poverty of earth.
He who was richer than any man has ever been; gave it up freely and became
poorer than any man has ever been.
At the first Christmas Word became flesh. The phrase “became flesh” really means to
wrap yourself in flesh. It has the idea of God wrapping himself in human flesh.
That’s what happened at Bethlehem. It was God entering the human race in the
form of a man. That is what God did. He
didn’t mail a letter or shout from heaven. He did the one thing we could
understand. God himself came down and entered the human race. He became poor
like us so that forever we would hear him saying, “I love you.”
We wouldn’t have
done it that way. We’d schedule a press conference, call the TV stations, hire
a press agent, have a parade, call in the dignitaries, sell tickets, make a big
deal so all the world could see. But
God’s ways are different, more profound and awesome. Immanuel—God with us. Here is the purpose of Christmas. He came so
that we who were poor might become rich. C.S. Lewis said it this way: “The Son of God
became a son of man in order that the sons of men might become the sons of
God.” Christmas began in the heart of God;
it is complete only when it reaches the hearts of men. Happy Christmas.
This entry was posted in Christmas Messages
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