There is no better season than the Christmas season. Don’t we all just love the days of expectation throughout Advent leading up to Christmas Day? Then for another week, the New Year’s Day celebrations keep spirits high. Then – BAM – our enthusiasm for everything dwindles and we return to our normal lives. Our normal routines kick in and despite often-short-lived resolutions, our lives go on without much reflection on God and the meaning of life. Do we really think it was God’s intention for the joy of Christmas to occur but once a year, lasting maybe for the month of Advent to simply disappear until the next year?
Reflecting on past Christmases through the lens of a child, I am reminded that although we gain much wisdom with age, we unfortunately lose much of our innocence. As adults we often only believe what can be seen or proven. What a loss! Christmas is not about logic, theories, calculations, critical thinking or predictive analytics. Christmas is about believing. Christmas is about wondering. Christmas is about dreaming. Christmas is about imagining. Christmas is about knowing that on this day, God gave us the greatest gift of all – the birth of Jesus. It is a time to wonder what our lives might be like if we truly turned them over to God. I am reminded of Pope Francis’ words, “God never gives us a gift that we are not capable of receiving. If He gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand it and receive it.”
Do we really understand that the best part of Christmas is that it brings a spirit of love at a time when the love of God and the love of others should prevail over all the hate and bitterness that so often dominates the news? The past year has been filled with peaks and valleys of joy and sorrow, and many of us are trying hard every day to heal from the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or a serious medical condition. Our hearts and souls are often filled with doubt and sadness, but this is when we must “lean in” because He is there to give us strength when we are weak. His love and support know no limits. This is the season when our thoughts and deeds and the spirit of our daily lives need to rely on the love of our Savior.
The gift of Christmas is reflection. It is a time to reflect on the past, to have the courage to face the present, and to have confidence about the future. This is the time when we should wipe the slate clean, forgive and ask for forgiveness, and move forward. This is the time when, with a heavy heart, we must cherish the memories of the loved ones we have lost and ask God for the strength to be the best possible person for those relying upon us for love and comfort.
Only the celebration of Christmas captures the world in such a way that everything else is put on pause and we all share a moment of love, peace, harmony, faith and hope. Extending this feeling of joy requires not only an acknowledgement of the potential of living a better life of love and empathy, but a commitment to be the change that we pray to see throughout the world.
Mother Theresa gives us the best advice on being such a catalyst of positive change when she said, “It is Christmas every time we smile at our brother (and sister) and offer our hand.”
Let us pray: May we all have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope, and the peace of His love during the Christmas season and throughout the year. May our hearts be lifted in peace, and may the birth of Jesus bring a renewed joy into our lives. Amen.
There is no better day to be the sunshine in somebody’s cloudy day. If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Together let’s make this a better, more caring world. Merry Christmas!