“AS WE SPEND THE NEXT FEW WEEKS PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS, TRY TO MAKE THIS TIME DIFFERENT.”
Greetings from Father Bob ...
When
third graders were asked to illustrate the text "He will come again in
glory" One child drew a picture of Jesus stepping out of a big jet along
with a red carpet, photographers, reporters, etc. A second child drew a
bullet-proof limo and police. Perhaps, a harsh image of the Prince of
Peace. But, in reality, that is how Popes and Presidents travel. A third
child put Jesus in a space ship with an explanation that it took Him
two thousand years to return because space travel takes so long. Since
this is the TV generation, another child had Jesus being interviewed on
TV and one had Jesus on the cover of a magazine.
No one put Him on a donkey or descending from a cloud. Most curiously,
not one of the young artists drew Jesus in or near a church. Those
children did something very important. They put Jesus in the context of
our time, in the here and now.
The coming Christmas is not just about Christ in a manger. It is also
about Christ in a heart - your heart and mine. St. John the Baptist
tells us to prepare the way of the Lord. So, how are you going to
prepare spiritually for the birth of Christ? Maybe it is time to go to
confession. Maybe it is time to heal a relationship. Maybe it is time to
right a wrong.
Or, maybe it is time to simply try to improve our relationship with
Christ. God gave us His greatest gift, the gift of His Divine Son. That
is one gift we need to open before Christmas. Christ can be present to
us in many ways. He is present to us at church. He comes to us in the
Eucharist. He also comes to you every day in those around you.
We have all heard this so many times before - that we have to see Christ
in others that it becomes just something we hear. We tend to forget
that it is one of the cornerstones of our faith, without which we can
not call ourselves followers of Christ. Christ comes to us every day in
those around us. Those we like and those we do not. He comes to us,
especially, in those closest to us. We can ask ourselves how do we treat
them. Remembering that Christ told us how you treat others is how you
treat Him.
St. John the Baptist did not say wait for the Lord. He said prepare His
way. That is to do something. As we spend the next few weeks preparing
for Christmas, try to make this time different. What changes do I need
to make in order that those closest to me will have a happy Christmas? I
do not mean material gifts, but is there some healing that needs to
take place. Is there something I need to do for myself to make me a
whole person.
Christ gave up Heaven and became human for you. He would have done it
for you if you were the only person in the world. And, even that was not
enough. He died for you. If you are that important to Him, the least
you can do is not only live – live for Him.
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Yours in Christ,
Father Bob Warren, SA
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