Someone recently asked me what Christmas meant to us in our parish?
When I think of what we do in both parishes of Tatura and Kyabram in the lead up to Christmas my first thought was ‘giving’.
We have collections at all Masses for St Vincent de Paul and their Christmas Hampers Appeal. We have a Christmas tree with envelopes (gift tags) and requests for certain items for different age of children, these are then purchased and brought back to be placed at the tree. We have generous donations of gifts which are then given to the Berry Street Foundation.
This helps us to keep Christmas in perspective. Because what is Christmas? ………..if not Christ coming to us in the innocence and frailty of a child. He gave up the power of God to become one like us and then to sacrifice his life to save each and everyone of us. Not bad examples of giving?
Everything we are, everything we do, everything we have is ours to share and give away. Christ’s presence in our world is to start us on this journey. If we don’t, then, we only become very self-centred and selfish human beings.
This can also be a very subtle way to erode away for us the comments of; Christmas being too commercialised; we may offend some people and their religious beliefs; secularisation of Christmas; even the Christmas tree! But as Christians we can use this to our own advantage to do things for the right reason! The Christmas tree is a beautiful symbol of giving to another with love as its basis. We can take the comments on board and be sensitive, where necessary, but don’t be distracted.
We need to remain focussed on what we believe is the true meaning of Christmas. It is up to us to keep Christ in Christmas and we will achieve this just by being Christian. No point worrying or being distracted with people taking Christ out of Christmas if we are not concerned about keeping Christ in the word Christian and being a true Christian ourselves! We need to be true to who we are and who we follow.
There is no point being distracted or us ‘talking’ about someone if we are not being honest and living out the word Christian ourselves. If we can achieve this then maybe the Christmas dissenters will realise that their case for removing Christmas is to no avail when Christ is all around them every day not just one day in the year.
Christmas for us is a time to return and reflect on what has given us our joy and meaning in life. Christmas is when it all started, a time to again see why it is about giving. I have nothing that is not for the benefit of others. What I receive back is what gives me life and my meaning for living.
If we can achieve this throughout the year the giving at Christmas will come much easier and I don’t just mean presents, they will tell their story of love, but maybe its going out to the ‘black sheep’ in our families, friends we haven’t seen for a long time, maybe it is being reunited with our church community?
Jesus is the Christmas story but it is up to us to tell it by our own lives and example.
- The Christmas story speaks to the child in each one of us, calling us back to childhood dreams and joys.
- The Christmas story speaks to our youth and encourages us not to forget the wonder to be found in simple things.
- The Christmas story speaks to all adults encouraging us to once again soften our hearts which may have become hardened by the material world.
- The Christmas story speaks to the elderly, the sick, the lonely and those of us who are grieving, reminding us that our frailty and pain is wrapped in the love of our God. It is therefore fitting that we pray that Jesus, the Child of Peace, brings peace, peace to our hearts, peace to our families and peace to our world.
He was humble enough to become one of us. Surely we can be humble enough to share/give what he gave us – our gifts of talents to others who most need them. This is being fully human this is what gives us life. Happy Christmas!
Fr Michael Morley
