BRINGING CHRIST TO PEOPLE THIS CHRISTMAS

The visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her elderly cousin Elizabeth is quite a dramatic episode. It is all the more interesting that this gospel reading is presented to us on this fourth Sunday of Advent when Christmas is already casting its shadows on us. Mary had received the angel’s message and, after conceiving Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, decided to visit Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah.

This gesture of Mary reveals something to us and commands us to go out and reach out to others this Christmas. Mary also calls us to extend hands of solidarity and fraternity to people as we celebrate Him who came down to share His life with all mankind. The visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth is a reminder on us to celebrate the love of Christmas first of all with our spouses, children and family members, since charity begins at home. Do not forget to celebrate this Christmas with and for your household; for Christmas is a family feast. Jesus chose to be born into the human family to show us that family life is a blessed life and a happy life. So, begin this Christmas celebration with your family members and thereafter share the love of the season with your neighbours and other people.

As Mary arrived the home of Zachariah and greeted Elizabeth, an expectant mother, John the Baptist who was in the womb of Elizabeth leapt for joy. Of course, she felt the presence of Jesus, His Master and Saviour. Elizabeth too was so full of joy and, guided by divine inspiration, she uttered those gracious words that would later be added to the salutation of angel Gabriel to form the first part of the Hail Mary. She said: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk. 1:42). Needless to say that even Zachariah, although dumb at this point, would have rejoiced exceedingly to see the cousin of his wife and the mother of Jesus come to visit his home. What allowed for this joy in the lives of John the Baptist, Elizabeth and Zechariah was the fact that Mary brought Jesus to their home.

This is the second task that Christmas imposes on us. Christmas is all about the birth of Christ and we are all called to bring Christ to all those we meet this Christmas. Like Mary, let us carry along with ourselves Jesus Christ and let His presence in us be felt by others in a way that stimulate joy in them and make them respond positively. As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas, let us avoid those things that will not show us as ‘carriers of Christ’ to the people we meet. You cannot claim to be carrying Christ to others in a state of drunkenness. You cannot make Christ to be felt by that neighbour with whom you have kept bitter animosity and malice and have refused to get reconciled till now. Certainly, you cannot claim you are a ‘bearer of Christ’ to that partner of yours with whom you are planning fornicate this Christmas. Let our encounter with our family members and people this Christmas bring Christ closer to them since Christmas is all about ‘reincarnating’ Christ in our world today.

We ought to know that the Saviour to be born to us this Christmas is a humble King and the prophecy of Micah presented to us in first reading reveals some of His attributes. This Messiah is an eternal God, for ‘His origin is from of old...from ancient days’. However, Jesus stepped out of eternity into human history to change our story and make us sharers of His divine nature. God selected ‘the little town of Bethlehem’ as His birthplace to further show us that He is that humble King who has come for both the poor and the rich. Another Christmas is here and our Saviour, who existed from the beginning and was born in Bethlehem, will soon be born again into the cradle of our hearts. Let us then live in humble gratitude to Him, bringing Him to all those we meet and sharing the joy of His birth with them.