25/12/2024
Love, mystery, God, hope, joy and mercy go far beyond human concept and explanation and yet are fundamental to human life. The birth of Jesus, Christ our Saviour, is the very best expression of them all and much, much more besides. We live in mystery; love is our sustenance. We are uplifted by hope, joy and mercy, all of which surround us, not just in our prayer or in our churches but in every single human heart.
One of the great themes of Christmas is hope. We yearn for it, our families yearn for it, the world cries out for it. It is no wonder that Pope Frances, the prophet, chose HOPE for the theme of the Jubilee Year just on the horizon. We all want Jesus to bring hope to our world but he has told us that we are the people of Hope. Our question is how can we bring, how can we be, Hope for the world? In what way can we inspire Hope in people? Gifted with the hope of the Saviour, how can we use it to inspire hope in others? Questions to ponder!!
Listening to the unfolding of the Christmas story inspires an optimistic hope of what is possible with the birth of our saviour. The impossible has become possible in Jesus. God has become man. How valuable we must be in the eyes of God for God to do this! As his story will unfold, we discover he is willing to give everything, his whole life to save us, to save everyone, from an eternal death.
Our inquisitive minds seek to understand love, mystery, God, hope, joy and mercy in order to have some control over them. Mary had no control over Gabriel, the angel of God, but she accepted to let the Holy Spirit fully embrace her and God entered her in the most transformative way possible – God became man.
Christmas invites us to do the same by asking us to be embraced, even overwhelmed by love, by mystery, by God, by hope, by joy and by mercy. In simple terms we are invited to hand over our lives fully to God just a Mary did in her response to Gabriel.
Throughout the Gospels the writers often speak of Mary pondering what was happening in her heart. Have you ever thought what she taught her Son, Jesus, our Messiah? Do this today and the days ahead. Whatever she taught him she would certainly have helped him hand over his life to God on the cross. She will also help us to do the same.
The Christmas invitation of God to us this year comes with the graces of hope inviting us to place our lives into the full embrace of God.
Do this and discover how God will transform your life in mysterious and wonderful ways as well.
Have a very blessed and hope filled Christmas today and every day of the coming year.
by Fr. Thomas O'BRIEN a.a
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