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| Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. |
Christmas is the celebration of
Heaven descending into the abject poverty of the manger so that humankind could
be raised to partake of the rich treasures of Heavenly existence. This mystery
is revealed to us by St. Paul writing, “For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so
that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) Christmas
therefore unfolds to us the splendid hope that we can avail in this great love.
“God Proves His Love For Us” (Romans 5:8)
St. Paul explains this as he
writes, “Though he was in the form of God, He did not consider being equal with
God… But He emptied Himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like
human beings.” (Philippians 2:6-7) This
is the Divine act of love that saves us. As St. John tells us, “God so loved
the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
By this Heavenly descent, God has shown us the supreme and true nature
of love. Love is the emptying of oneself in order to fill the other.
Every giving of one’s self
implies the emptying of one’s self. Since God did not cling on to His own
Divine Glory, He could come down to our utterly low level to enrich us with
Heavenly Love. This mystery of Christmas reveals to us, once and for all, our
mission on this earth to live for others by denying ourselves.
The life of Jesus on this earth
was a continuation of this standard of loving. He did not come to establish a
political kingdom on this earth and to rule in the majesty of a king. Instead,
He went about seeking those who having lost the reason to live were groping in
the darkness of despair.
“A Saviour Has Been Born For You Who Is Messiah And Lord” (Luke 2:11)
St. John presents Jesus waiting
by the side of a well on a scorching mid-day in the dusty town of Sychar for a
woman in sin who was to come there to draw water (John Chapter 4). She did not
even acknowledge Him but He seeks her out, approaching her as a thirsty man in
need of water. He stood before this impoverished woman as a man in need. He was
thirsty indeed to accomplish the Father’s Will for her and save her soul. He
bore with her insolence and the empty arguments that she raised. He was fixed
on that redemptive purpose and He did not mind the humility it meant for Him.
He knew her sinful life had drained her heart to the extent where it was so dried
up that she was unable to experience even the slightest glint of Divine Love.
She was inextricably entangled in the ways of sin and she found it impossible
to release herself from it. Though her heart was longing for liberation from
the grip of vice, she had given up on her lot as irretrievably lost.
Jesus knew very well the misery
of her existence and the helplessness of her sin-ridden state that He went over
and waited at the water-side for her coming. He did not react to her arrogant
postures or answer her vain arguments. He was not concerned about proving
Himself as the sole authority on the truth, which she had to surrender to. His
only aim was to redeem her and restore her to the Heavenly Father. He had to
gain her confidence to awaken in her the consciousness of her own sinfulness
which was obstructing the light of truth from touching her. At a decisive
moment, her heart opened to accept Jesus as the Saviour. The gospel records,
“She said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ);
when he comes, he will show us all things.”Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to
you am he.’” (John 4:25-26) This
revelation snapped the bondages of deception that had long held her captive.
“Light shone in darkness and darkness could not hold out against it.” (John
1:5) She was overwhelmed with joy and became the first ever missionary to
proclaim that Jesus was the promised Saviour to humankind, “Come, see a man who
told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (v. 29)
When Jesus humbled Himself, He
could fill the heart of a woman with the living waters of the Holy Spirit. She
in turn, rushed to the very people who had despised her and presented to them
the treasure of heaven that had filled her heart.
Here is an individual lost in
sin and as a captive of sin had reached a point of no return. She knew very
well that her sinful indulgence would never give her life's fulfillment and yet
her cravings for sin would not leave her. She also knew that her sin had led
her to an alienation from God and man. She stood helpless, alone, angry,
defensive and defeated. Into that misery of the human heart God enters with
grace, respectfully and gently to lead it to the fullness of life, holiness and
reconciliation with God and humanity.
“Upon Those Dwelling In A Land Of Gloom, Light Has Arisen” (Isaiah 9:1)
The gospels present us another
personality who had reached the end of the road and feels resigned to give
himself up to the failure of his past. The event of the Resurrection had come
to pass and still the Apostles remained in hiding. They were reeling from the
extraordinary sequence of events from the condemnation and conviction of their
Master, to a cruel death and finally the Resurrection that they were yet to
comprehend.
In this dark hour, Simon Peter
was the first to give up. “’I am going fishing’ he said.” (John 21:3) It was a declaration to the rest of the
company of Apostles that he was done with the waiting and the hoping. Though he
had encountered the Risen Lord, the entire series of events was lost on him and
he was in a confounded state. The Passion and the Death of Jesus were too deeply
etched in his mind and all he knew was that his was a bleak future. He was
shocked by the manner in which his cherished hopes of a kingdom were shattered
with the Master now eliminated. He was haunted by his own failure to stand up
for Jesus. He had no confidence to be identified with the rest of the
disciples. He regretted for having quit the Sea of Galilee leaving his
securities – the boat and net.
The three years with Jesus
seemed like a vain dream - a meaningless empty sojourn. The exhilarating
memories of the miracles and healings done by the Master were all lost in the
thick cloud of the tragedy of the Cross. The fate of his friends no longer
connected to his own. Peter was determined to go his separate way and be rid of
every share and string that linked him to the Kingdom of his dream, his Master
and the company. If he could erase the three years of his life with Jesus, the
hopes and plans he had, he thought he would have erased the deep grief that cut
through his heart. He was prepared to eke out his livelihood as it was before
he met Jesus.
The dark waters of the sea
seemed to be the only reality before him. It mirrored the raging waves of pain
and despair that filled his inner self. To Peter who determinedly turned away
from the privilege and experience he was singled out for, the Risen Lord
reaches out to him - calling out beyond the roaring waves to guide him to a
dawn of hope and restoration.
Peter was being tossed from one
failure to another. Even when he abandons the call and gets into the boat with
a few other disciples, they fail to make a catch. The Lord however did not
abandon them to their faltering choice. Jesus calls out from the shore, “Children,
haven’t you any fish?” (John 21:5) He
then directs them to cast the net on the other side of the boat. He leads them
from failure to a new direction of life. Peter gets an abundant catch of fish.
More importantly he gets restored to what he realizes is most precious - His
Master and the mission. He commits his life definitively and completely, “Lord,
you know all things; you know that I love you.” (John 21:17) The Lord had won
over the lost disciples and won for them their true and glorious destiny. They
would feed His lambs, tend His sheep and follow the Master in fulfilling God’s
great commission of salvation.
“You Are My Disciples If You Love One Another” (John 13:35)
This is the way of the Divine
Love that saves others. This is what we need to follow and take up in our
life’s mission. What was inaugurated at Christmas must continue in our life –
the descent of Heaven to light up the dark alleys of human frailty. Indeed
Christmas is to be experienced, celebrated and lived in our daily lives - the
manger where we exist and in the places where we find ourselves in discomfort
and at a loss. We celebrate Christmas when we let Heaven descend into the
painful circumstances of our life by responding with love in the daily
encounter with the arrogance and suffering that surrounds us.
Here at the Divine Retreat
Centre, every week thousands come in on Sunday with their load of distress,
hurts and troubling complexes. We often must face situations where God is
challenging us to live the Christmas mission of loving even when it hurts. An
incident comes to mind. On a Friday when the weekly retreat ending, I was in my
room meeting a few of the retreatants who were to leave that day. A man strode
into my room and in a rather loud, accusing tone, said to me “You should not be
thinking that you are the greatest preacher in the world for you definitely are
not.” I was taken aback to hear someone accuse me of such foolishness to make
such an absurd claim. I was disturbed, being occupied with other retreatants. I
was inclined to correct him, but I paused for a moment in prayer. I felt that
some incident elsewhere must have provoked him to this unwarranted outburst. I
asked him to be seated.
As I finished counselling the
departing retreatants, I called him to my table and asked him how I could help
him. He said he had been forced to come for this retreat. On arrival with his
family, those at the reception said that he could not get a room until evening
as the retreatants have to leave and the rooms had to be cleaned. They also
told him that he had come two days ahead of the retreat schedule. He was tired
and irritated and wanted to leave immediately. I listened to his angry
assessment of the Retreat Centre, those of us serving here and of the church at
large. Meanwhile, I had a room arranged for him. I told him to rest since
anyway he had made a long journey to reach here.
On Sunday night, he came to me
after the evening session. With tears in his eyes, he thanked me for letting
him stay and have the experience. He shared with me his struggles - how he had
been through a long, difficult patch in his business, had taken to drinking and
soon other problems had crept into his life. His wife had forced him to come
for the retreat hoping this would save the family. He made a sincere retreat
and experienced God’s Loving Touch powerfully. Heaven had entered his family. I
recounted my first encounter with him and my immediate human inclination to
react to his arrogance. God however reminded me to put aside my natural impulse
and take the stance of kindness and compassion Jesus felt for him. That allowed
Heaven to begin its descent into the life of this hurting man and his family.
Christmas is the Promise of God
that He is waiting to usher in Heaven to every manger on earth. He is searching
for followers who will keep His mission on-going. They will empty themselves of
their rightful claims to worldly importance and stoop down to enter the mangers
of impoverished human situations with the Saving Light of Heaven.
Let Us Pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank You
for Your great Love that saved us. You have seen the misery of sin and death
that burdened humankind and You reached out with compassion. Lord we open our
hearts and pray that Your great compassion may be poured into us that we may
reach out as You did to us.
Lord Jesus, You treasured the
Father’s Will and You emptied Yourself without counting the cost and
humiliation, the pain and rejection you must face. You won for all of humankind
life and salvation. Lord we pray, walk with us and lead us to love and save the
people who come into our lives.
May the gift of Your Love and
Presence fill our hearts and homes and this world - that this Christmas may
bring the glorious Light of Heaven into this broken world.
Amen.
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