My dear fellow sojourners in the vineyard of the Lord.
Christmas is here. We are grateful to God Almighty for the many graces He has showered on each one of us. From the moment we were born till where we are NOW our lives have always been filled with God’s generous LOVE.
This LOVE was revealed to us in the remarkable birth of Jesus the infant child. He was born into a cold and brutal environment which kept shutting its doors on Him. He was seen as an un-welcomed guest. God our Creator, in the infant Jesus, is not even seen as a simple guest. He was seen as a migrant and we treated Him with disdain!
God being God, He still reveals to us that this unwelcome guest is “IMMANUEL – God is with us”, (Mt 1:23). He is the gentle Infant Jesus born in Bethlehem, the WORD became flesh, (Jn 1:14). In Him and through Him the Spirit of God breathes hope into all of us because HE is the world’s Redeeming Love
Today this redeeming love is celebrated in our experiences as HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE. It is also a celebration of our ability to recognize this WORD BECAME FLESH – JESUS - AS IMMANUEL IN OUR MIDST.
Indeed it is God’s Love that enables us to associate with JESUS so that our hearts and homes become pure and noble through the action of Jesus’ Redeeming Love in our world today! And so we are the New People of God, and with courage, we welcome ALL, yes everyone – the poor and rich alike.
As Christians, it is proper that we welcome one another from the recesses of our hearts! Only then, can we truly echo the many expressions of the early disciples of Jesus who said “Yes, it is true we have seen the LORD” (Jn 20:18,25; Lk 24:33-35;Acts 4:20; 1 Jn 1:3), and today we celebrate this great moment with the Angels and join them in singing: “Glory to God in the Highest” .
Let us, then, celebrate IMMANUEL – God who is with us in our lives and communities! Welcome the stranger, the disdained guest!
A Happy and Blessed Christmas!
Rev Fr Lawrence Andrew, SJ
Parish Priest
