Jesus the Christ, the Light of the world, the true Light of the world that pushes back the powers of darkness, lives and reigns! Christmas is a once-a-year revival of the fires of love and belief that burn in our hearts that there is more than what we see.
There is more than what is on the surface.
There is God. And God is here.
There is more to Christmas than the cultural debate about what to call these holy days which are celebrated by many in sacred but, by many more, in secular ritual.
There is more to Christmas than the holiday sparkle and warmth and nostalgia of the music and worship and memories that form our Christian identity.
There is more to Christmas than celebrating the “birthday” of Jesus Christ.
To discover the “more,” we need to dive deep, to sink below the surface and open up to the mystery of God-with-us-here-and-now.
The essence of Christ’s coming to earth was to remain on this earth, to be here-and-now with each person, until the end of the world. Christ Jesus is here in His Body and in His Bride, the Church. He is here in His eucharistic presence—the very present representation of the Incarnation—in churches and chapels great and small that stand in most cities in every country. They flood the world with the grace flowing from the Holy Mass offered almost continuously across the globe.
Christ Jesus is here in you and me, who remain before the world as its conscience, reminding people here-and-now that there is a God who loves them and calls them to holiness and to live in justice and to show mercy.
Jesus is “the true light, which enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.”
We should not be surprised then, if we are not recognized by the world as one of their own. For we also are Christ here-and-now. We are also called to be the light that pushes back the powers of darkness and the presence of despair. We are given the role of offering our lives like Jesus did on the cross. We are lifted up as a lantern to point the way, to proclaim the truth, to provide sustenance from our Eucharistic living to others who long to find meaning in their life. And that makes Christmas mean so much more.
Jesucristo, la Luz del mundo, la verdadera Luz del mundo que repele los poderes de las tinieblas, ¡vive y reina! La Navidad es un reavivar anual del fuego del amor y la fe que arde en nuestros corazones: que hay más de lo que vemos.
Hay más de lo superficial.
Existe Dios. Y Dios está aquí.
La Navidad es más que el debate cultural sobre cómo llamar a estos días santos, que muchos celebran de forma sagrada, pero muchos más, con rituales seculares.
La Navidad es más que la alegría, la calidez y la nostalgia de la música, el culto y los recuerdos que forman nuestra identidad cristiana.
La Navidad es más que celebrar el “cumpleaños” de Jesucristo.
Para descubrir ese “más”, necesitamos sumergirnos profundamente, sumergirnos bajo la superficie y abrirnos al misterio de Dios con nosotros, aquí y ahora.
La esencia de la venida de Cristo a la tierra fue permanecer en ella, estar aquí y ahora con cada persona, hasta el fin del mundo. Cristo Jesús está aquí en su Cuerpo y en su Esposa, la Iglesia. Está aquí en su presencia eucarística —la representación misma de la Encarnación— en iglesias y capillas, grandes y pequeñas, que se alzan en la mayoría de las ciudades de todos los países. Inundan el mundo con la gracia que fluye de la Santa Misa ofrecida casi continuamente en todo el planeta.
Cristo Jesús está aquí en ti y en mí, quienes permanecemos ante el mundo como su conciencia, recordando a las personas aquí y ahora que hay un Dios que las ama y las llama a la santidad, a vivir en justicia y a mostrar misericordia.
Jesús es “la luz verdadera, que ilumina a todo hombre que viene a este mundo. En el mundo estaba; el mundo había sido hecho por él y, sin embargo, el mundo no lo conoció”.
No debería sorprendernos, entonces, que el mundo no nos reconozca como uno de los suyos. Porque nosotros también somos Cristo aquí y ahora. También estamos llamados a ser la luz que ahuyenta el poder de las tinieblas y la presencia de la desesperación. Se nos ha encomendado la tarea de ofrecer nuestras vidas como Jesús lo hizo en la cruz. Somos elevados como una linterna para señalar el camino, proclamar la verdad y brindar sustento desde nuestra vida eucarística a quienes anhelan encontrarle sentido a su vida. Y eso hace que la Navidad signifique mucho más.
Sr. Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is an author and offers online evangelization as well as spiritual formation for people on their journey of spiritual transformation and inner healing. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com My Books: https://touchingthesunrise.com/books/
Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ HeartWork Spiritual Formation Group: https://touchingthesunrise.com/heartwork/
Feature Image Credit: Giotto, Public domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_Bethlehem#/media/File:Giotto_-_Scrovegni_-_-18-_-_Adoration_of_the_Magi.jpg
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