In Africa, a tale is told of a boy called Amazu, who was always very inquisitive. One day he asked, “what language does God speak?” But no one could answer him. He traveled all over his county questioning everyone but could not get a satisfactory answer. Eventually he set out for distant lands on his quest. For a long time, he had no success.
One night he came to a village called Bethlehem, and as there was no room in the local inn, he went outside the village in search of shelter for the night. At last, he came to a cave and found that a couple and a child also occupied it. He was about to turn away when the young mother spoke. “Welcome Amazu, we’ve been waiting for you.”
The boy, amazed that the woman knew his name, was even more amazed when she went on to say, “for a long time you have been searching the world over to find out the language God speaks. Well, now your journey is over. In Christmas time you can see with your own eyes the language God speaks. He speaks the language of love.“
Whatever language we may speak, God always speaks only on language and that language is the language of love.
As we contemplate the Christ child lying in the manger in Bethlehem, and the mystery of our God who became man we celebrate LOVE. We celebrate Love which is born in silence, poverty, simplicity and purity in Bethlehem, which means the house of bread.
This is the true meaning of Christmas. The second person of the Blessed trinity becomes incarnate. Jesus is true God and true man. He is one person with two narratives, a divine nature and a human nature. The son of God, Jesus, left His heavenly palace and His glory to visit me and you in our dark and sometimes dirty places to let us know that He is always with us, that He will always love us.
“For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man” as we say these words in the Profession of Faith.
And indeed, God had to become one of us to make us understand His love for us, because despite God’s best efforts throughout all of the Old Testament and the hard work of so many prophets, people still didn’t get the message. Sometimes you have to, as we say, rub their noses in it to make us understand how much He loves us, how much He cares for us, how important our life is to Him.
Pope Benedict XVI one said: “The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities our values, our very way of life. Whild Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience.”
“It’s easy to think Christmas. It’s easy to believe Christmas, but it’s hard to act Christmas. So pray faithfully. Care deeply, Give freely. Think kindly. Act gently and be at peace with God and the world… Do you get the message…???
Happy Christmas to you.
Fr. Tom