I wish you all a Merry Christmas.
We are full of expectation and hope because Jesus will be born again.
In times gone by, in the kingdoms of Europe, whenever a princess or a prince was born, the bells took wing, music would sound and celebrations were organized throughout the kingdom.
Now, the King of kings and Lord of lords will be born to us. What bells, music and celebrations will accompany or surround the Child who is to be born?
The insignia and signs that will accompany Jesus who is to be born are: night, silence, stable, and manger. A donkey, the humblest and most useful of animals, and some shepherds who were at the bottom of the social ladder at that time.
If we were to ask someone, “What word would sum up these signs at Bethlehem?” They would instantly respond, “Love!”
Many times in my life, I have asked groups of believers, “Can you help me find one word that encompasses all the existential contents of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ?” And they immediately, unanimously respond, “Love!”
A Gospel where Jesus experienced that God is not, above all, fear. He is love. He is not primarily justice but mercy; nor is he, Your Majesty, Your Excellency, Your Holiness, but pardon, care, nearness, tenderness, solicitude. There is a need to call him by a different name so, from now on, he will not be called Yahweh, but Father, because he has and does what an ideal father in this world has and does: he is always near; he understands, pardons, cares, protects, and encourages. After experiencing what Jesus experienced, there was no other way but to call him by the name which encompasses what in this world is most worthy of love: Father. And so, the First Commandment is changed in some way in that, from now on, it does not consist in loving God, but in allowing oneself to be loved by God since only those who are loved can love.
Nevertheless, this word, the most beautiful in the dictionary and the most frequently used in human language, is also the most equivocal because the great majority of times when it seems that we love, in reality, we love ourselves. This is because the ego disturbs/perturbs the heart, filling it with fear, apprehensions, anxieties, divisions, ambitions, placing many other interests which poison human relations behind the word Love; in that way many times when using the word Love we are only seeking ourselves.
Therefore, this word does not help us.
Once again we ask ourselves: which word would sum up those signs we find at the Birth of Jesus: night, silence, stable, manger…? The word HUMILITY. But in our society, that word is out of circulation.
Sometimes I am puzzled by the fact that God the Father Almighty would have arranged the birth of his only Son with so many elements of humility that almost seem like humiliation. Chileans use the expression: “He exceeded himself” – Yes: God seems to have overdone it by having so much silence, darkness, radical absence, extreme poverty, at the birth of his Son.
What did the Mother say? “He has done great things in me… for He has looked upon his Handmaid’s Lowliness.” Mary, looking for the identity of her personhood, she did not use other titles such as Immaculate, Mother of God… she simply identified herself and introduced herself as the lowly servant.
What did Jesus say? He said: “Learn from me, that I am? … what am I? “Meek and humble of heart.” Like His Mother, he defines or identifies Himself, not as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world, etc. but as a meek and humble servant of his brothers and sisters.
Only the humble love, because otherwise we love ourselves in a camouflaged way.
Only the humble are happy because otherwise fears, rivalries, and ambitions, the “offspring of the EGO, rob us of our peace.
Only the humble do not have guilt complexes or beg for self-pity.
The Humble do not get perturbed or become angry.
The Humble respect everything, revere everything.
The humble permanently navigate in an everlasting peace. For that reason, they are happy.
My Brothers and Sisters, may you receive this Jesus who is born anew, with a humble heart full of peace.
To conclude, I will also shout like those first Christians when they were pushed in among the beasts.
Maran Atha
COME LORD JESUS
AMEN
F. Ignacio Larrañaga
