Advent Reflection By: Rev. Fr. Julius R. De Sagun
It is Christmas! Our long wait is now over. The one that we are waiting and longing for is now with us. JESUS is the reason for the season. We cannot celebrate Christmas away from Jesus. That’s why I wonder how some people celebrate Christmas while they take away Jesus from the scene. They only have Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer in their minds. They only long for money as a Christmas present. They only think of food, and that’s all! Jesus is nowhere to be found. Moreso, in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic, I wonder how will Christians all over world celebrate Christmas. For sure, there will be a lot of difference now as compared to the many Christmases of the past. Some are sad and down this Christmas because of the crises of different sorts – economic, emotional, spiritual, etc. Can there be Christmas amidst the pandemic? Let me answer my own question. 1. Jesus came into the world to remind us that He is our only source of real hope. The Prophet Isaiah exclaims: “How beautiful is the one coming to bring good news who herald peace and happiness!” (Isaiah 52:7). Be reminded that Isaiah speaks of peace and happiness in the middle of a war. That is HOPE – when you see beauty amidst ugliness, when you sense calmness amidst turmoil, when you believe despite the reasons to doubt. Full of hope, the Prophet Isaiah reminds the people that God will come to their rescue and they will never be abandoned by Him. With God’s presence, people are assured that they are safe, that warwill be no more, all foes will be trampled down and justice shall reign. With God, there will only be peace! 2. The coming of Jesus completes the plan of salvation. Jesus’ mission is to bring all men of goodwill to His Father in heaven. In order to do this mission, Jesus “pitched His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). He has entered into the limitations of our human condition and embraced all our human tendencies – joy, sadness, fear, poverty, and temptations and all else but sin. What is the point? Jesus understands us because He himself is never alien to suffering.
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Advent Reflection This pandemic has brought us so much worries and fears. Worries stole our peace. Fear paralyzed many of us. What could be our source of peace? Material things? Money? Gadgets? Social Media? All of these do not serve us peace. Perhaps they entertain us during this difficult times but they do not give real peace. Even the COVID-19 vaccine does not guarantee peace. Vaccine somehow guarantees protection but not peace. We could have all the invented COVID vaccines injected into us, but when another virus come, we will be at risk again. How about allowing Jesus to be our source of peace in these troubled times? Let us be secured by Jesus who came into the world to save us. St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina beautifully preached: “Pray, Hope, and Do not Worry!” His words seem so simple but we often forget it. When you pray for something, commend it totally to God, do not worry anymore. Allow God to do His share. In this pandemic, as long as we do our share to take care of ourselves (by physical distancing, wearing of face masks and face shields), let us be at peace knowing that as we do our best, God will do the rest. In the Bible, the exhortation “Do not be afraid” was noted 365 times, as many as the days of the entire year. Therefore, there shall never be a day of fear for God is “Emmanuel – God is with us” (Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:14). Only those who have thrown Jesus away from their lives would claim that they are all alone in this Christmas.
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Advent Reflection
Let me end this reflection by telling you a story.
In the recent past, during a Christmas season, I blessed a house of a parishioner here in our place in Imus. I noticed a lot of people living in their small house. In a course of conversation, I was told that they were from Leyte and their house there was destroyed by the Super Typhoon Yolanda. Emotionally, the father and the mother narrated to me how they have lost practically everything they owned and how they struggled to bring everything back to normal. They became more emotional when they narrated that some of their relatives died during the super typhoon. The bodies of some of those relatives have not been retrieved. In that short period of conversation with them, I felt their pain. They can hardly move forward. But to my delight, when I asked: “So how will your Christmas be like after all these?” The mother told me: “Father, halos wala na pong natira sa amin! Pero ngayon lang namin nare-realize na si Hesus nga ang Pasko. Wala nang natira sa amin kun’di Pananampalataya! Alam naming hindi niya kami iiwan.” (“Father, we have lost almost everything, but we have slowly realized that Christmas is truly about Jesus. We have lost almost everything but only our faith remains. We know that Jesus will never abandon us.”)
Oh, wow! That is faith! I found joy in what I have heard.
Can there be Christmas amidst the pandemic? YES! Only if we have Jesus. He is “THE GIFT” more than enough! Let us count our blessings and appreciate the presence of who and what matter most – life, health, family, friends… name it and know how blessed you are! This Christmas, while we gaze on the Belen where the lowly infant Jesus is peacefully sleeping, let us thank Him and say: “Now that we have You, everything will be alright! COVID-19 will not destroy our faith in You. Thank You for coming to us. We welcome You with hope. Please remain with us. You are our everything. Amen!” To my ASJ Family, Merry Christmas! May the Peace of Jesus, the new born King, be always with us.
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