"Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will."(Luke. 2:14)

"Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will."(Luke. 2:14)
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Christmas is just around the corner.

It is important to  make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of Christmas ,  specifically on the  figures in the Nativity.

Just imagine

Mary and Joseph 

travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem , 

Mary on a donkey

and Joseph  walking  the whole  distance of about  97 miles. 

Why do they go to Bethlehem?

In obedience to the order of an earthly king "emperor Augustus, enjoining that the whole world should be registered "(Luke. 2:1)

Child Jesus, still in His mother's womb,  chooses to obey an order of an earthly king, though He is the Creator of the whole universe.

I remember His  words at a later time,  "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's."

Real Christmas consists in

Jesus' coming

in search of sinners,

in obedience to His Father's will.

Of course, being God one with His Father, it is His will.

The grace of Christmas is one of

love,

humility

and

tenderness.

Another important person in the Nativity scene is Joseph.

We know how he decided

to divorce Mary,

not knowing the real cause of her pregnancy

and

how he accepted her

after being informed by Angel Gabriel

that the Child conceived was God Himself.

He believed the Angel's words and obeyed him.

Here we see Faith and obedience go together.

Of course we believe in the Church, but how far do we obey Her words?

Unless we obey the precepts of the Church

and

the words of her spiritual administrators, 

that means,  our spiritual Fathers,

our Christmas celebration

is mere waste of time.

Very important person next to Jesus in Christmas is Mother Mary.

She  allowed God to "change the destiny of mankind" by  accepting to conceive our Saviour.

Her words to Angel Gabriel at Annunciation reveal

her Faith,

humility,

obedience,

total surrender to the will of God

and

her spirit of dedication."

A child should inherit the qualities of its mother at least to a certain extent , though not fully.

"தாயைப்போல் பிள்ளை,
நூலைப்போல் சேலை." is a Tamil proverb.

There is a little difference between her Faith and our Faith.

We believe in  the  virginal conception of Jesus, though we cannot understand it.

But she experienced it herself.

She was a virgin and she conceived Jesus.

Though she was Mother of God Almighty,  she was very humble.

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord" - these words of hers reveal her humility.

The moment she knew that she would conceive God Himself, she obeyed the will of God without demanding further explanation from the Angel.

We must also obey Jesus and
His will every day.

Mary is  a model for us to follow.

The place where Jesus was born is an  important factor in our meditation on the Nativity scene.

Joseph had a house of his own in Nazareth.

He did not come to Bethlehem in search of a place for Jesus to be born.

He did not choose a poor place when a comfortable place was available.

It was only 'because there was no room for them in the inn', Joseph chose a stable.

So it was  not Joseph's plan.

It was God's plan.

It was His plan that His divine Son should  be born as a man in a poor stable.

The Holy Family lived according to the will of our Heavenly Father.

The Holy Family is a model for our human families for
carrying out the will of God.

"Rise up, take with thee the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt; there remain, until I give thee word."

"He rose up, therefore, while it was still night, and took the child and his mother with him, and withdrew into Egypt, where he remained until the death of Herod."

"Rise up, take with thee the child and his mother, and return to the land of Israel; for those who sought the child’s life are dead."

"So he arose, and took the child and his mother with him, and came into the land of Israel."

The above  quotes from the Gospel according to St.Matthew reveal how the Holy Family obeyed the will of God.

Joseph, the head of The Holy Family obeyed every word that came to Him from above.

He knew that the Child  under his care was God and it was His will that he was carrying out.

Our Christmas celebrations will be fruitful only if our families are akin to the Holy Family in their carrying out the will of God.

Our families may meet with unexpected sufferings,

but we must remember that whatever happens to us

is according to the plan of God,

who wills only our good.

Another important factor of Christmas is the people to whom the first Christmas message was given.

The message was given to the shepherds,

who were poor and simple

and

who were keeping awake all the night,

taking care of their sheep.

They were like Jesus in their poverty and simplicity.

Are we like Jesus in our spirit of poverty, which is very dear to Jesus?

The most important thing in Christmas is the Christmas message.

"Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will."

Christmas should make us live our life for the glory of God.

Jesus came to the world to bring about peace  between God and us.

To  be really peaceful we must be men of good will.

Only good willed people can do good to others.

Let us pray to God to bless us with the grace to celebrate our Christmas in such a way as to make us men of good will.

Lourdu Selvam.

I